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Politics : View from the Center and Left

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To: wonk who wrote (4722)	10/27/2005 2:01:59 PM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (2) of 541490

Fascinating - if that statute were enforced to its full possible meaning, the US government (politicians and civil service) would grind to an absolute halt regardless which party is in power. As it is, I am sure it is only used in cases of financial fraud, misuse of government resources, etc. The key is "knowingly and willfully". It's like the standard for journalistic libel, which requires knowledge of the falsehood and deliberate malice. Politicians can always say hey, I was wrong, sorry, but I thought I was right at the time. You need documentary or testamentary proof that there was knowledge of falsehood (like the stock analyst E-mails that sank those guys). It would be very interesting to hear the top legal scholars weigh in on whether that clause could be used for impeachment. I saw a reference in one piece to something like that being tossed in with the Nixon impeachment counts that never went to a final vote. But I really don't think the Democrats will go that route when they can leave Bush in office and let his presidency implode around him the way it is now.

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