# Why is it a crime to lie to police/FBI/etc? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218 "2015-05-30T20:49:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/1 "2015-05-30T20:49:08Z")
I assume it’s because you have the option to not say anything? Just seems to me that it’s a strange thing to call it a crime. Do witnesses get charged with lying to cops or mainly just people charged with other crimes? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/2 "2015-05-30T21:22:13Z")
It’s a crime because by lying, you are making it harder for the police to catch a criminal. You have a constitutional right to remain silent, but not one to lie. Witnesses don’t often get charged with lying, since the vast majority of witnesses have no reason to lie. If they do lie, however, they can be charged. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/3 "2015-05-30T21:23:53Z")
It is perfectly legal for cops to lie to you, but illegal for you to lie to them. The reason? Because the government makes the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/4 "2015-05-30T21:31:15Z")
Yup. Don’t tell the cops anything unless you have a signed blanket immunity deal in front of you, checked over by a credible attorney licensed in the area you are in. If the cops aren’t willing to give you such a deal, don’t tell em shit. Even if you know exactly what they want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/5 "2015-05-30T21:37:49Z")
Intentionally misleading them is against the law. Honest mistakes and misidentifications are forgiven. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/6 "2015-05-30T21:40:59Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Intentionally misleading them is against the law. Honest mistakes and misidentifications are forgiven. Determined by who? The law need merely convince a jury of 12 idiots who couldn’t get out of jury duty that you meant to mislead em on purpose. That’s not a high standard to reach…how could you prove you didn’t? Oh, and while you’re facing charges, the whole process takes years and the law basically treats you like you are guilty during that time period. And even if you win, you won’t get back the money you had to spend on attorneys and bail and lost income and so forth… ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/7 "2015-05-31T00:44:26Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > Determined by who? The law need merely convince a jury of 12 idiots who couldn’t get out of jury duty that you meant to mislead em on purpose. That’s not a high standard to reach…how could you prove you didn’t? Oh, and while you’re facing charges, the whole process takes years and the law basically treats you like you are guilty during that time period. And even if you win, you won’t get back the money you had to spend on attorneys and bail and lost income and so forth… Well, to begin with, although that line about jury duty is a famous joke, it’s not really true. I’ve been called to jury duty several times and the vast majority of those there are normal, decent, honest, reasonably intelligent people. It isn’t difficult at all to get out of jury duty, and this weeds out 99.99% of the idiots (they have no desire to be there). The lawyers weed out the rest. As far as who decides if your lie to the police was an honest mistake or not, it’s not even going to get close to a jury deciding. The police themselves will decide, and something like this is so tenuous that even if a cop was vindictive and wanted to prosecute you the DA wouldn’t let it happen. Unless your possible lie is part of your greater involvement in the crime, which is another thing entirely… ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/8 "2015-05-31T01:12:04Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Witnesses don’t often get charged with lying, since the vast majority of witnesses have no reason to lie. If they do lie, however, they can be charged. Nope. Witnesses get charges with lying all the time. Usually when the FBI wants leverage for some other purpose (to flip them, to recruit them as informants, etc.). > [@Morgenstern](#): > > Intentionally misleading them is against the law. Honest mistakes and misidentifications are forgiven. This is technically true, but misleading. If you say something false to the FBI, and they don’t like you or want leverage over you, they will definitely have you charged with a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001. Yes, they will have to prove that when you said you had never spoken to that guy that you hadn’t just forgotten that he sent you an email a decade ago, but that won’t stop them from arresting and charging you. Little-known fact: getting arrested for a federal crime really fucks up your life, even if the charges are later dropped or you are acquitted. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/9 "2015-05-31T04:11:24Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > It is perfectly legal for cops to lie to you, but illegal for you to lie to them. > > The reason? Because the government makes the rules. Bah! We are the government. It is illegal to lie to cops, because that makes it harder for them to catch criminals. And we citizens have created police departments to keep us safe by catching criminals. We expect every good citizen to do their duty to assist in protecting all of us by not lying to the cops. They can always decline to answer, thus not assisting the cops. But lying to our cops is deliberately working against the safety of our society, and we (via our elected representatives) have made that a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/10 "2015-05-31T05:21:54Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > This is technically true, but misleading. If you say something false to the FBI, and they don’t like you or want leverage over you, they will definitely have you charged with a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001. Yes, they will have to prove that when you said you had never spoken to that guy that you hadn’t just forgotten that he sent you an email a decade ago, but that won’t stop them from arresting and charging you. Little-known fact: getting arrested for a federal crime really fucks up your life, even if the charges are later dropped or you are acquitted. For rather extensive further information, including horror stories galore: Ken White of [Popehat](http://popehat.com/) rails on this theme quite regularly. His oft-repeated words of wisdom: **Just Shut The Fuck Up!**. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/11 "2015-05-31T05:29:05Z")
(Missed edit window): ETA: In fact, the issue has popped up currently in the case of Dennis Hastert. From a [current post at Popehat](http://popehat.com/category/law/): > [@Ken White](#): > > The rational response to this situation is clear: don’t trust the feds, don’t talk to the feds. But Dennis Hastert, like many accomplished people, believed he could talk his way out of the situation. When the FBI came to interview him, he didn’t refuse to answer and call his lawyer. According to the indictment, he confirmed in response to an FBI agent’s question that he was withdrawing cash in order to store it because he didn’t feel the banking system was safe. For that, he’s been charged with lying to federal agents. > > \< . . . \> > > But ask yourself: what is the legitimate basis for giving the feds the power to prosecute people for exculpatory lies that have no impact whatsoever on their operation? > > From the federal government’s perspective, the basis is clear: it’s a tool to help them charge people they want to charge. > > From the citizen’s perspective, this situation points to one obvious conclusion: shut up. Never answer a federal agent’s questions without a thorough debriefing with a qualified lawyer first. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/12 "2015-05-31T06:02:10Z")
Just a few posts on the subject, mostly by Ken White at Popehat, from a quick Google search for [noparse]site:popehat.com[/noparse] 1001, referring to 18 USC 1001: [Reminder: Oh, Won’t You Please Shut Up?](https://popehat.com/2011/12/01/reminder-oh-wont-you-please-shut-up/), Dec. 1, 2011. Includes further links to: [SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP](http://popehat.com/2007/10/26/shutupshutupshutupshutup/), Oct. 26, 2007. [Just A Friendly Reminder: Please Shut The Hell Up](http://popehat.com/2011/03/18/just-a-friendly-reminder-please-shut-the-hell-up/), Mar. 18, 2011. [Rule 2: Go Re-Read Rule 1](http://popehat.com/2010/02/26/rule-2-go-re-read-rule-1/), Feb. 26, 2010. (Rule #1 being: Just Shut Up.) More: [As Blagojevich Might Say, Just Shut the Fuck Up](http://popehat.com/2010/08/17/as-blagojevich-might-say-just-shut-the-fuck-up/). Aug. 17. 2010. (Blagojevich jury hung on 23 of 24 counts, but convicted him on one count over some petty lie.) [It’ll Be A Great Day When Our Schools Get All The Money They Need And The Justice Department Has To Hold A Bake Sale To Bury A Bum](http://popehat.com/2010/08/17/itll-be-a-great-day-when-our-schools-get-all-the-money-they-need-and-the-justice-department-has-to-hold-a-bake-sale-to-bury-a-bum/) by Patrick Non-White, Aug. 17, 2010. > [@Patrick Non-White](#): > > I’m simply going to suggest, with a hung jury on 23 of 24 counts against Rod Blagojevich, and a lone conviction on the penny ante charge of lying to the FBI, that the millions spent prosecuting him could have been put to better use. > > What if the Justice Department had just released the tapes, allowed Blagojevich’s impeachment to go forward, and then done nothing? He’d still be ruined, but he wouldn’t look like a martyr (which he does now, in an odd way), and the FBI and the Justice Department wouldn’t look like a gang of incompetent fools. [What Part of “Shut Up” Didn’t You Understand?](http://popehat.com/2009/05/05/what-part-of-shut-up-didnt-you-understand/), May 5, 2009. In fact, I just came across [this link](http://popehat.com/tag/shut-up/) which is Popehat’s own compendium of Just Shut Up posts. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/13 "2015-05-31T10:05:43Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > The law need merely convince a jury of 12 idiots who couldn’t get out of jury duty … i have the opposite view. The idiots are the ones who wish to get out of jury duty, and good. They are precisely the ones I would not want on the jury if I were involved in a trial. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/14 "2015-06-01T06:42:53Z")
Because we, as a society, have decided, through the electoral process, that constraining freedom of speech on the topic of public safety is a compelling need. And a good job, too, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/15 "2015-06-01T17:52:30Z")
I always wondered, what’s the result if you simply say you don’t remember when asked to testify? It’s not like they can prove you don’t remember. of course, you could say you’ve been told so many things by police, prosecutors, etc. that you don’t remember which is the real version. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/16 "2015-06-01T18:25:51Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I always wondered, what’s the result if you simply say you don’t remember when asked to testify? It’s not like they can prove you don’t remember. of course, you could say you’ve been told so many things by police, prosecutors, etc. that you don’t remember which is the real version. Note that the crime at issue here is not about sworn testimony. It is a felony to lie to an FBI agent when he just casually stops you to talk about your friend. “I don’t recall” is the tried and true strategy for sworn testimony, because once you’ve agreed to testify under oath, it’s harder to assert your Fifth Amendment rights. For the kind of everyday encounter at issue with 18 USC 1001 prosecutions, you have the right to just remain silent, which is even better than saying you don’t recall. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/17 "2015-06-01T18:39:56Z")
At the extreme end, I suppose that one could be concerned that eliminating the law that requires people not to lie to law enforcement could open up a big can of worms, maybe with people trying to frame other people for serious crimes. “My boss is just a jerk. I’m going to call the FBI and tell them he’s a member of Al Qaeda. What could they do to me?” ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/18 "2015-06-01T19:05:27Z")
Filing a false report of a crime is a separate state crime in many places. Not sure if there’s a separate federal law given that the feds make illegal any material false statement, but obviously the crime could be narrowed and still include false reports of a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/19 "2015-06-01T19:25:20Z")
I will not presume to answer for the feds. In my state it is not illegal to lie to the police per se. It depends on the situation. I will put the bottom line up front for those who don’t want to wish to read through the text below. Lying to police is an element of several crimes but it isn’t a crime itself. It depends why and how that lie is intended to be used. Not listed is perjury which obviously only can occur under oath. There is Obstructing the Administration of Law: > [@](#): > > 2C:29-1. Obstructing the Administration of Law > 2C:29-1. Obstructing Administration of Law or Other Governmental Function. a. A person commits an offense if he purposely obstructs, impairs or perverts the administration of law or other governmental function or prevents or attempts to prevent a public servant from lawfully performing an official function by means of flight, intimidation, force, violence, or physical interference or obstacle, or by means of any independently unlawful act. This section does not apply to failure to perform a legal duty other than an official duty, or any other means of avoiding compliance with law without affirmative interference with governmental functions. > > b.An offense under this section is a crime of the fourth degree if the actor obstructs the detection or investigation of a crime or the prosecution of a person for a crime, otherwise it is a disorderly persons offense. There is Hindering Prosecution: > [@](#): > > 2C:29-3 Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution. > > 2C:29-3. Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution. > a. A person commits an offense if, with purpose to hinder the detention, apprehension, investigation, prosecution, conviction or punishment of another for an offense or violation of Title 39 of the New Jersey Statutes or a violation of chapter 33A of Title 17 of the Revised Statutes he: > > (1) Harbors or conceals the other; > > (2) Provides or aids in providing a weapon, money, transportation, disguise or other means of avoiding discovery or apprehension or effecting escape; > > (3) Suppresses, by way of concealment or destruction, any evidence of the crime, or tampers with a witness, informant, document or other source of information, regardless of its admissibility in evidence, which might aid in the discovery or apprehension of such person or in the lodging of a charge against him; > > (4) Warns the other of impending discovery or apprehension, except that this paragraph does not apply to a warning given in connection with an effort to bring another into compliance with law; > > (5) Prevents or obstructs, by means of force, intimidation or deception, anyone from performing an act which might aid in the discovery or apprehension of such person or in the lodging of a charge against him; > > (6) Aids such person to protect or expeditiously profit from an advantage derived from such crime; or > > (7) Gives false information to a law enforcement officer or a civil State investigator assigned to the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor established by section 32 of P.L.1998, c.21 (C.17:33A-16). > > The offense is a crime of the third degree if the conduct which the actor knows has been charged or is liable to be charged against the person aided would constitute a crime of the second degree or greater, unless the actor is a spouse, parent or child of the person aided, in which case the offense is a crime of the fourth degree. The offense is a crime of the fourth degree if such conduct would constitute a crime of the third degree. Otherwise it is a disorderly persons offense. > > b. A person commits an offense if, with purpose to hinder his own detention, apprehension, investigation, prosecution, conviction or punishment for an offense or violation of Title 39 of the New Jersey Statutes or a violation of chapter 33A of Title 17 of the Revised Statutes, he: > > (1) Suppresses, by way of concealment or destruction, any evidence of the crime or tampers with a document or other source of information, regardless of its admissibility in evidence, which might aid in his discovery or apprehension or in the lodging of a charge against him; or > > (2) Prevents or obstructs by means of force or intimidation anyone from performing an act which might aid in his discovery or apprehension or in the lodging of a charge against him; or > (3) Prevents or obstructs by means of force, intimidation or deception any witness or informant from providing testimony or information, regardless of its admissibility, which might aid in his discovery or apprehension or in the lodging of a charge against him; or > > (4) Gives false information to a law enforcement officer or a civil State investigator assigned to the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor established by section 32 of P.L.1998, c.21 (C.17:33A-16). > > The offense is a crime of the third degree if the conduct which the actor knows has been charged or is liable to be charged against him would constitute a crime of the second degree or greater. The offense is a crime of the fourth degree if such conduct would constitute a crime of the third degree. Otherwise it is a disorderly persons offense. There is filing a false report: > [@](#): > > N.J.S.A. 2C:28-4. False Reports to Law Enforcement Authorities > > a. Falsely incriminating another. A person who knowingly gives or causes to be given false information to any law enforcement officer with purpose to implicate another commits a crime of the fourth degree. > > b. Fictitious reports. A person commits a disorderly persons offense if he: > > (a) Reports or causes to be reported to law enforcement authorities as offense or other incident within their concern knowing that it did not occur; or > > (b) Pretends to furnish or causes to be furnished such authorities with information relating to an offense or incident when he knows he has no information relating to such offence or incident. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218/20 "2015-06-01T19:46:29Z")
The Popehat link goes on about the need for the misleading statement to be material - but this does not mean the lie has to actually mislead the police, just that it could have, i.e. information pertinent to the investigation. (I.e. they can’t charge you for saying you had a blue tie on yesterday, not a red one, unless tie color matters to the crime.) Even if they know damn well what the true answer is, and whatever you said would not change that knowledge, the fact that you answered incorrectly mean you attempted to mislead them. Popehat mainly talks about the federal law, and suggests that often the feds will ask about details they know the answer to, simply to catch the person saying something incorrect and to be able to pile additional felony charges onto the charge sheet (possible leverage). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-a-crime-to-lie-to-police-fbi-etc/721218.md?page=2)