Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I just don't get this. Lying can be problematic for reasons that have nothing to do with whether it's a crime. Suppose that Clinton lied to everyone and convinced us all that Somalia was a threat to our security, in order to justify military intervention there. Who in their right mind would say that the lie in his deposition was worse?
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A President lying can cause all sorts of problems. But it is not illegal. There are all sorts of things that are problematical that we don't like but they are not illegal. Clinton lying about Somalia woud not even come close to Clinton lying under Oath. Our whole legal system rides on testimony and the validity of that testimony. Every minute of every day there hundreds if not thousands of court cases occuring whose just outcomes depend on people telling the truth under Oath. The more people fear the outcome of lying under oath the better our legal system. The less people fear the consequnces of perjury the more injustice gets done. Perjury is hard to catch but when you do catch it we have to prosecute to promote the integrity of the system. If Clinton had been impeached and prosecuted it would have sent a message to the whole country that perjury is not tolerated. Letting Clinton lie and get away with it, just reconfirmed everyones cynicism about the legal system.
