Saturday, April 9, 2011

Is There A Law About Lying To Congress?


Isn't there?

Senator Jon Kyl made this statement the other day.
'NOT INTENDED TO BE A FACTUAL STATEMENT'  
Not intended to be a factual statement!  I call that a lie.  Right?  A lie is a non-factual statement.  Just to be sure, I checked the internet.  I'm right.  The internet say a lie is
a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.
And where did he say this?  On the floor of the Senate.  See, he is the Senate Minority Whip.  That means he is one of the leaders in the Senate.  It means he is one of the republican leaders in the Senate.  Leaders are supposed to set a good example.  I guess a good republican example is a liar. 

What was he lying about?  It doesn't matter.  If you really want to know, check out the link.  It will tell you.

But the important point that I want to make is that here is a leader of the Senate admitting that he was lying in statements he made on the floor of the Senate.  LYING! 

Should he be charged with lying to Congress just like other people have?

8 comments:

  1. I don't need to check the link, I have heard about this. He was lying about how much Planned Parenthood spends on abortion services. He said they spend astronomically more than what they really do.

    I don't recall how much (I'll have to check the link for that info), but I think he said 90% of their budget goes to abortion services when the actual amount is 9%. (It's 3 percent, I just checked the link).

    I'm pretty sure there isn't a law that says Congresspersons can't lie on the House or Senate floor. There is a law that says individuals testifying before Congress can't lie (but only if they are sworn in). But then they just say they can't remember (like Gonzales did).

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  2. Are people like Kyl so stupid they don't realize that what they say is being recorded for the whole world to hear and being instantly fact-checked? Or do they have such a low regard for people's intelligence? Whatever. A lie is a lie is a lie. That was bad enough but his "defense" was almost worse.

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  3. Ha! Just thought I stop by and drop you off a beer....

    http://www.thedailypage.com/media/2008/12/03/bh120308a.jpg

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  4. Kyl started lying to the people the first moment he learned to speak. Why should the Senate be any different? What a piece of crud!

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  5. Unfortunately the Constitution is pretty clear about Congressional immunity for anything they say or do on the Congressional floor. John Kyl could literally bring an Uzi and shoot down every single Democrat in the chamber and be prosecution-free.

    - Badtux the "But nice dream anyhow!" Penguin

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  6. Bad Tux is right about what senators can get away with saying (murder and mayhem, not so much :))

    Those who testify before Congress under oath can face serious penalties for lying. Those found to have lied but not under oath, I think, can be held in contempt of Congress, with lesser penalties possible.

    The rich part about Kyl's statement to the press is how it's a bland admission he's a liar. It tells the world he gets up on the Senate floor and just makes things up, and no one should expect what he says to be honest and factual.

    Kyl has long been a pompous windbad, and since about 2003, his accomplice, John McCain has been just as obnoxious.

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