4 ms·
>no intent required on your part, if you said it rained last tuesday and it didn't you are guilty of lying to federal agents) While I completely agree that "ly
by alasdair_ 7y ago
>no intent required on your part, if you said it rained last tuesday and it didn't you are guilty of lying to federal agents)
While I completely agree that "lying to a federal agent" is a charge that is open to abuse, it's worth noting that the lie needs to be material in order for a crime to have been committed.
- zionic 7y agoWhile that's a great point and a likely defense, the play is more often than not to charge you with lying (and scare you with the max jail time threat) to then coerce you to be an informant or work with them in some other way. We essentially have state-sanctioned black mail.
- ldiracdelta 7y agoThe process is the punishment.
- ALittleLight 7y agoIf I'm allowed to write your testimony, I can be sure you'll make a material lie though.
- zionic 7y agoSee the sibling comment. Basically every statement to the gov is material.
- Tomte 7y agoFrom https://www.popehat.com/2011/03/18/just-a-friendly-reminder-please-shut-the-hell-up/ https://www.popehat.com/2011/03/18/just-a-friendly-reminder-... > here was no chance whatsoever that your denial — whether it was a panic-induced brain fart, or a failure of memory, or a lie — could have misled or deterred the FBI in its investigation for even a moment. But that doesn't matter. Though materiality is an element of Section 1001, it's a weak, diluted type of materiality. Statements to the government are deemed material if they are the sort of statements that have the capacity to influence it. Courts have come very close to creating a presumption of materiality by reasoning that if the information were not material the government would not have asked for it and you wouldn't have offered it.