So, How Serious is Perjury?
Commentary by Phil Valentine  / August 28, 1998

The next time a friend says to you, "even if Clinton did lie in the Paula Jones deposition, it's no big deal" ask them this. Would you think it a big deal if the President were found to be a counterfeiter? Would you ask for impeachment if he were a blackmailer? What if he were found to be guilty of bribery? Would you ask for his head? Would you tolerate a commander-in-chief who was a burglar, a wife-beater or a stalker? Inevitably, the answer will be that anyone guilty of such heinous crimes should immediately be ejected from office. Once the trap of logic has been snared you can inform your friend of the cold reality. The Department of Justice - Janet Reno's Department of Justice, mind you - considers all of these crimes: counterfeiting, blackmail, bribery, burglary, domestic violence and stalking less serious than perjury, obstruction of justice or subornation of perjury.(1) Less serious! Not a combination of all three but less serious than any one of the crimes of which the President is accused. In fact, perjury, et al. are on a par with statutory rape. How ironic. Janet Reno's own sentencing guidelines for someone convicted of perjury, having never been convicted of a crime before, is a mandatory 18-24 months in prison followed by at least two years of supervised release.

"Oh yeah, but nobody's ever been prosecuted for lying in a civil case, much less a civil deposition," your friend might respond in desperation. There's no shortage of Clinton apologist trying to make that one stick. Bill Ginsberg, Monica's former attorney, said so himself on the Today Show back in February. Keep in mind that this is the brain trust who pleaded with Ken Starr to forget his duty, turn a blind eye to the law and call off his investigation of the President because the polls showed the American people don't care. Like his client and the man he foolishly tried to protect, he was playing loose with the facts too. The truth is, the government has gone after civil perjurers no less than 19 times since 1957, 14 of those coming in the '90s alone.

The crime of lying under oath in a court of law, despite the spinners who want you to think it no more egregious than chicken thievery, is a gravely serious crime with equally serious consequences. And with good reason. Honest, credible, unencumbered witnesses are the backbone of our judicial system. Without them the halls of justice come crumbling down. Without them our judicial system is reduced to a kangaroo court where decisions favor the most devious and deceitful and truth becomes worthless.

So, how serious is perjury, anyway? The next time you hear the President making a speech on the scourge of domestic violence and the necessity to bring these perpetrators to justice, remember that the Law regards him with even more disdain.