IT'S NOT THE NON-CRIME, IT'S THE COVER-UP:

Standing on the Shoulders of Perjury Law (Richard B. Schmitt, August 15, 2005, LA Times)

Patrick J.] Fitzgerald, 44, has a history of invoking perjury laws and related statutes to buttress his investigations. [...]

Fitzgerald's tendency to invoke the laws against lying comes from two things, colleagues say: the particular way he uses grand jury testimony when he conducts an investigation, and his deep-seated aversion to being lied to.

Many prosecutors go before a grand jury only after they have a case pretty well wrapped up. But Fitzgerald's approach is to use the grand jury as a tool for compelling witnesses to disclose information. And if he thinks a witness has fiddled with the truth, associates say, he becomes indignant.

"He is an aggressive prosecutor," said Joshua Dratel, a New York lawyer who represented El-Hage. "If he feels someone is lying to him, he takes it personally."

Perjury charges can buttress an overall prosecution. They also enable prosecutors to bring charges against people when it may be difficult or impossible to prove them guilty of what are seen as their underlying crimes.

Of course, in this case there isn't even an unerlying crime to be proven.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 15, 2005 6:43 AM