Former US Intelligence Chief Off the Hook for Lying to Congress
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
According to Washington rules, opponents of US policies alone may be charged with wrongdoing, even when charges are fabricated.
US officials pursuing America’s agenda can do what they please unaccountably – no matter how serious their crimes.
Wars of aggression criminality are more serious than all other wrongdoing. Yet no US government or military officials were ever held accountable for Nuremberg-level high crimes – committed against multiple countries, ongoing daily in multiple theaters.
Perjury and lying to Congress are serious offenses. Under US Code, title 18, section 1001, anyone knowingly or willingly making false statements to federal authorities is criminally liable – even when not under oath.
Penalties include fines and imprisonment up to five years. If lying relates to anything involving terrorism, sentences can be eight years – possibly longer in either case if convicted on multiple counts of lying.
Yet the law is rarely enforced, data showing only six convictions in the 60-year period ending in 2007.
On March 13, 2013, then-director of national intelligence James Clapper was asked by US Select Committee on Intelligence Senator Ron Wyden if any NSA data was collected “on millions or hundreds of millions of Americas.”
“No sir, not willingly,” Clapper replied – willfully and knowingly lying to Congress.
Clear evidence revealed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden explained Clapper’s lie. The NSA, CIA, FBI and other US intelligence agencies spy illegally on virtually anyone everywhere they wish to target, including tens of millions of unsuspecting Americans, violating their right Fourth Amendment rights.
Snowden earlier explained, “sitting at (his) desk,” he could “wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email” address.
Big Brother is real, monitoring virtually everything and everyone targeted with technological ease – including telecommunications, emails and all other online activity. Clapper lied claiming otherwise.
Virtually nothing online escapes scrutiny. Fourth Amendment rights don’t matter. Privacy no longer exists.
Tens of billions of records are collected and stored monthly – no authorizing warrants gotten. Spying is extrajudicial. Everything goes on secretly.
Clapper was never threatened with prosecution. As of March 12, it’s official. The statute of limitations on his wrongdoing expired.
His guilt went unpunished even though known by US authorities for years.
In congressional testimony, Hillary Clinton lied to lawmakers, claiming her home server contained no classified material.
She’s never been held accountable – nor for other crimes committed as co-president with husband Bill, US senator, secretary of state, or for the Clinton Foundation money-laundering racket masquerading as a charitable NGO.
Countless political prisoners languish under harsh US global gulag conditions. Criminality by US officials goes unpunished – the way longstanding injustice in America works.
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My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."
