Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Lying, perjury and standard for impeachment
Author: David Carter-Tod Posted: 12/21/1998; 11:34:14 AM Topic: Cardboard Cutout People Msg #: 1579 (In response to 1574) Prev/Next: 1578 / 1580
Lying and perjury are not the same thing. The legal standard for perjury is higher than that for lying -- among other things, it must be legally relevant. Since the Jones case was dismissed, and subsequently settled, there is a legal case for saying that the lying was not legally relevant.However, it doesn't matter very much if Clinton legally committed perjury or not, because the standard for impeachment is not a legal standard, but a political one. Basically, it is "high crimes and misdemeanors" _as defined by the House and Senate_. It is not sufficient to say that Clinton broke the law and therefore should be impeached -- breaking the law does not automatically qualify a president for impeachment.
It is misleading for representatives to suggest that they had to vote for impeachment because they think Clinton broke the law. They are required to make a political judgement, not a legal one.
p.s. replying to this message, because I don't know how to start a thread (maybe I can't?)
This page was archived on 6/13/2001; 4:46:52 PM.
© Copyright 1998-2001 UserLand Software, Inc.