Comment by AngryData
17 hours ago
So government officials can lie but citizens must tell the truth all the time? That is insane to me and I don't see how that does anything other than force people into perpetual criminality so that they could be arrested at any time. The average US citizen already commits 3 crimes a day because our justice system is so messed up.
> citizens must tell the truth all the time
That only applies to federal agents, at least. You can lie to local cops all you want. Though in both cases I think just keeping your trap shut is the better option.
> You can lie to local cops all you want.
The legality of that varies.
Yes, in Texas or Washington you can be charged with a misdemeanor for lying to a cop in an investigation. In Georgia, that could be a felony. That's the closest equivalent to the federal statute (also a felony).
But in general, lying to a local cop is significantly less likely to get you in trouble. The risks are so much higher with a federal agent that I'd strongly consider just staying silent rather than risk talking myself into a problem. The feds are fond of using it as their charge of choice when nothing else will stick.
The government can throw people in jail too but if you kidnap someone and lock them in your basement that's a crime. This is no different.