Former Intel Chief James Clapper has avoided perjury charges even though he admitted to lying to Congress about his surveillance testimony.
Thanks to fives years of inaction by the Justice Department, the criminal statutes that cover lying to Congress with 5-year limitations has run out.
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The Washington Examiner reported:
Former intelligence chief James Clapper is poised to avoid charges for allegedly lying to Congress after five years of apparent inaction by the Justice Department.
Clapper, director of national intelligence from 2010 to 2017, admitted giving “clearly erroneous” testimony about mass surveillance in March 2013, and offered differing explanations for why.
Two criminal statutes that cover lying to Congress have five-year statutes of limitations, establishing a Monday deadline to charge Clapper, who in retirement has emerged as a leading critic of President Trump.
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The under-oath untruth was exposed by National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who sparked national debate on surveillance policy with leaks to the press.
Many members of Congress, mostly Republicans supportive of new limits on electronic surveillance, called for Clapper to be prosecuted as the deadline neared, saying unpunished perjury jeopardizes the ability of Congress to perform oversight.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) had some harsh words for Clapper.
Massie tweeted: He admitted to lying to Congress and was unremorseful and flippant about it. The integrity of our federal government is at stake because his behavior sets the standard for the entire intelligence community.
He admitted to lying to Congress and was unremorseful and flippant about it. The integrity of our federal government is at stake because his behavior sets the standard for the entire intelligence community.https://t.co/lMqir5Vkcn
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 11, 2018
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Clapper’s damning testimony occurred on March 12, 2013 wherein he told Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) “no sir” and “not wittingly” when asked if the NSA was collecting “any type of data at all” on millions of Americans.
James Clapper never corrected the record according to Senator Wyden.
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A few months later whistleblower Edward Snowden busted James Clapper.
Via the Washington Examiner:
Months later, Snowden revealed in June 2013 that the U.S. intelligence community obtained secret court orders forcing phone companies to turn over millions of U.S. call records on an “ongoing, daily basis.”
Clapper offered at least two different explanations for his inaccurate testimony. In a June 2013 apology letter, Clapper wrote that he gave the “clearly erroneous” answer because he “simply didn’t think of” the call record collection. But in an MSNBC interview the same month, he saidhe chose to give the “least untruthful” answer because he was “asked a, ‘When are you going to stop beating your wife?’ kind of question, meaning not answerable necessarily by a simple yes or no.”
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James Clapper blatantly lied to Congress, admitted it and got away with it.
Clapper regularly attacks President Trump in media interviews; media sycophants treat Clapper like royalty.
Liberals push Clapper onto the public as if he’s a beacon of truth. It’s truly disgusting to watch.
Clapper escaping perjury charges is further proof there are a separate set of laws for people in high levels of government.
Read the full report by the Washington Examiner here.
