As everyone who reads my blog knows I’m a law and order person and I believe in the rule of law, but I think that some laws are overly intrusive and actually violate some of the rights we negotiated for in the Constitution. In this case I believe the law about lying to a Federal Investigation being a crime is wrong. I believe it violates the First Amendment of Freedom of Speech. One of the reasons I feel strongly about this particular law is that it has been used by federal law enforcement agencies to trap otherwise innocent people into a federal crime. In fact, if lying to federal law enforcement is a crime then pleading innocent in a trial where you are subsequently found guilty is itself a crime and you could have another count listed against you.
Innocent until proven guilty is the bed rock of our legal system and having federal interrogators claiming that you lied to them is a sure thing in getting you indicted and eventually tried. It is also a sledgehammer of a tool for obtaining “cooperation” in an investigation when an otherwise innocent person is threatened with a charge of lying to a federal investigator. For criminals and non criminals lying should be protected by the freedom of speech clause of the first amendment.
Yes, I know it makes the job harder but you shouldn’t have to contend with a charge arising from nowhere for lying while being investigated or even questioned about another crime. This law smacks too much of Stalin’s chief of secret police Lavrenity Beria tactics who said ,”show me the man and I’ll find the crime.” In this case it’s show me the person and I’ll make them commit a crime or at least threaten them with having lied because of a mis-remembered happening or mistake.
This law, plus the cost of defense counsel to represent you during these seemingly indeterminably long investigations is not how our legal system should be conducted. I would also like to see some measure so that it isn’t just the rich and famous who are able to afford the best defense money can buy. That there is a tiered justice system in the U.S. is obvious to anyone with eyes and a modicum of common sense. That it favors those with money (sometimes illegally obtained) is without question. I can think of lots of things I would change but I’ve have the ABA all over me if I put them down here. Too much power in the hands of too few people.
Have you ever considered that the only federally elected office in the United States that has term limits is the Presidency? You would think that given the power of judges, senators and senior house members they too would have term limits. But since they’re the people who decide upon term limits we’ll never get them. This is why we need a constitutional convention where a civilian oversight capability is established for Congress. Oh, and back to the top of this essay: we need to nullify the law about lying to federal investigators; IMHO It just isn’t Constitutional.