Making false statements

Making false statements

Making false statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001) is the common name for the United States federal crime laid out in Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which generally prohibits lying to or concealing (information) from a federal official by oral affirmation, written statement or mere denial. The purpose of the statute is to "punish those who render positive false statements designed to pervert or undermine functions of governmental departments and agencies".[1]

Overview

The statute spells out this purpose in subsection 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a), which states:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—

(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device[ , ] a material fact;
(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or
(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, …

Even constitutionally explicit Fifth Amendment privileges do not exonerate affirmative false statements.[2] As the Court in Bryson v. United States said:[3]

“ Our legal system provides methods for challenging the Government's right to ask questions — lying is not one of them. ”

However, the federal courts have held that § 1001 does not to apply to in-court statements. Hubbard v. United States, 514 U.S. 695 (1995), was a United States Supreme Court case which held that 18 U.S.C. § 1001 did not apply to the judicial branch, and by implication, to the legislative branch of the Federal Government.[4] Courts have largely relied on the fact that perjury statutes cover in-court statements, and have stated that the conventions of courtroom advocacy might create many ambiguous, borderline cases in which application of § 1001 could harm other important interests, such as rights of the criminal defendant.[5]

History

The earliest statutory progenitor of §1001 was the original False Claims Act, adopted as the Act of March 2, 1863, ch. 67, 12 Stat. 696.[6] That enactment made it a criminal offense for any person, whether a civilian or a member of the military services, to:

… present or cause to be presented for payment or approval to or by any person or officer in the civil or military service of the United States, any claim upon or against the Government of the United States, or any department or officer thereof, knowing such claim to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent …

Pub.L. 65-228, 40 Stat. 1015, enacted October 23, 1918, amended it to read:

… or whoever, for the purpose of obtaining or aiding to obtain the payment or approval of such claim, or for the purpose and with the intent of cheating and swindling or defrauding the Government of the United States, or any department thereof, or any corporation in which the United States of America is a stockholder, shall knowingly and willfully falsify or conceal or cover up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or make or cause to be made any false or fraudulent statements or representations, or make or use or cause to be made or used any false bill, receipt, voucher, roll, account, claim, certificate, affidavit, or deposition, owing the same to contain any fraudulent or fictitious statement or entry …

Pub.L. 73-394, 48 Stat. 996, enacted June 18, 1934, eliminated from the False Claims Act the requirement of an intent to defraud the United States and amended it to read:[7]

… or whoever shall knowingly and willfully falsify or conceal or cover up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or make or cause to be made any false or fraudulent statements or representations, or make or use or cause to be made or used any false bill, receipt, voucher, roll, account, claim, certificate, affidavit, or deposition, knowing the same to contain any fraudulent or fictitious statement or entry, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or of any corporation in which the United States of America is a stockholder …

Pub.L. 80-772, 62 Stat. 683, enacted June 25, 1948, simplified it further and replaced it with:

Whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry …

References

  1. ^ United States v. Harrison, 1985
  2. ^ United States v. Wong, 431 U.S. 174, 178 (1977)
  3. ^ Bryson v. United States, 396 U.S. 64, 72 (1969)
  4. ^ United States House of Representatives Report 104–680, Government Accountability Act of 1996, July 16, 1996
  5. ^ United States v. North, 708 F. Supp. 380
  6. ^ Hubbard v. United States, 514 U.S. 695 (1995)
  7. ^ United States v. Yermian, 708 F.2d 365, at 18

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