What the prosecutor who questioned Marjorie Taylor Greene at her insurrection hearing thinks of her testimony

[jlw]

Originally published at: What the prosecutor who questioned Marjorie Taylor Greene at her insurrection hearing thinks of her testimony | Boing Boing

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[Papasan]

[ClutchLinkey]

That guy gives good interview. I like how at the end he side-stepped the framing of, “will Raffensburger side with you,” question by bringing it back to the rule of law and how he thinks the rule of law is on their side. Classy.

[MonkeyT12]

That guy hedged his own position almost as much as Greene did, but then, he wasn’t under oath.

[ClutchLinkey]

I didn’t see it that way at all. He deftly avoided getting pulled into framing this as a partisan thing. It’s not “us vs. them,” it’s “us working to uphold the constitution.”

[generic_name]

“I don’t remember” doesn’t really matter if you have evidence she did in fact say or do something. She is asked a question, pleads ignorance, then is presented with evidence that she did say or do it, at that point she has to admit it.

Is it necessary to prove “I don’t remember” is perjury? I suppose if you bring someone else to the stand who says “she told me in private she was just going to pretend to not remember” then you’ve got her. Or perhaps you could ask her something innocuous from the same day in question. If she remembers having bacon and eggs for breakfast but doesn’t remember her seditious remarks then the judge wouldn’t buy it.

[nick_warr]

Now judges rule blatantly with their political alignments, hedging your bets probably isn’t a bad idea.

[blackanvil]

@generic_name

Is it necessary to prove “I don’t remember” is perjury?

Well, if you as a private citizen try this for sworn testimony, you will be held in contempt of court by most judges, and held until you do remember. In this case, though, that wouldn’t help any, as she can be sprung whenever the House is in session so she can attend: “They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.” Unless someone tries her on federal treason charges, she cannot be held.

But, yes, in this case for an actual perjury charge to stick, you’d have to prove she was lying about her internal mental state, which we could do with a FMRI setup, but I doubt that one would fit in the courtroom witness stand.

[DukeTrout]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I think you read too much into that clause. Members of Congress can and have gone to jail and prison. They just can’t be arrested at work or on their way to and from work.

This also relates primarily to civil law. Almost all criminal charges or arrests are absolutely allowed for MoC. That’s what the term “Breach of the Peace” covers - criminal acts.