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To: Seruzawa
"Was he under oath? Lying under oath is a felony. He should be in jail."

Not to split hairs, but...lying under oath in a criminal or civil trial can indeed be a felony - perjury. Lying to Congress is a slightly different beast, insomuch that it is called Criminal Contempt of Congress - and I believe it's "only" a misdemeanor, but I'm not positive without looking it up.

Here's the rub when an administration official lies to Congress - Congress can't prosecute anyone. Only the Executive Branch can prosecute people. If Congress believes someone has lied to them, then they have to refer the matter to a federal prosecutor (I think the US attorney for the District of Columbia), who then decides to prosecute, or not. Most legal scholars believe that Congress can't compel prosecution because of separation of powers problems.

For this reason, and several others, I don't believe anyone has actually ever been prosecuted for Criminal Contempt of Congress, whereas many (dozens and dozens) have been found to be in contempt of Congress, by Congress. But these are generally pursued civilly, and not criminally.

49 posted on 02/10/2011 12:13:02 PM PST by OldDeckHand
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To: OldDeckHand
I don't believe anyone has actually ever been prosecuted for Criminal Contempt of Congress

The Hollywood Ten, plus EPA official Rita Lavelle.

51 posted on 02/10/2011 12:23:10 PM PST by Bubba Ho-Tep ("More weight!"--Giles Corey)
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To: OldDeckHand

Another fantasy shattered. Oh well. Too bad that lying under oath to affect legislation isn’t a felony. That would reduce the ranks of lobbyists and Executive Branch officials pretty quickly.


52 posted on 02/10/2011 12:23:20 PM PST by Seruzawa (What's Democrat's legacy? Almost 1/2 million dead US soldiers and collapsed cities.)
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