Is Perjury Really That Bad?
Good question. I wouldn't say it's on par with rape or murder. In most cases it might not even rank as high as removing mattress labels or failing to follow the shampoo directive to wash, rinse, then repeat. However, when somebody has taken an oath of office they become subject to the public trust. For those chosen few, perjury is no longer a matter of prosecutor's preference but about the will of the people. And that will is doubly important when it carries the burden of a multi-million dollar payout.
Click here for The Detroit Free Press story on the Kwame Kilpatrick charges.
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UPDATE:
I have heard several comments about the difficulty of proving a perjury charge. We have already heard Kilpatrick's lawyer put the wheels in motion by claiming that the mayor never lied about sex because he was asked about a "romantic relationship" and there are many ways to interpret the term "romantic."
Two points: first, I don't believe local jurors will fall for Clintonian word play concerning sex. Second, it is important to remember that there are two counts of perjury against Mayor Kilpatrick -- the first involving this romantic relationship, but the second pertains to the mayor's claim that he had no knowledge of the firing of a Detroit police officer (who was suing the city under the whistle blower legislation) before it actually happened, a claim which is clearly contradicted in the text messages Kilpatrick sent from his city-issued pager.
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