Perjury
From RationalWiki
Perjury is lying under oath, usually in a court of law, but also under certain other specific circumstances, such as testifying before Congress (in the U.S.).
The favorite way to avoid perjury in modern times, perfected by Ronald Reagan under the sad influences of "plausible deniability" and Alzheimer's Disease, is to claim to "have no memory". In a recent example, Alberto Gonzalez has effectively testified to Congress that he "has no memory" of being Attorney General of the United States.
Famously, of course, William Jefferson Clinton was caught in a gentleman's white lie regarding the honor of a woman covering his own ass, wherein he stated "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" while being interrogated about other matters (though this was in a press conference, not under oath). Fifty million dollars later, it was proved that he had, indeed, interfered with said woman's honor. So he was impeached.
Indictments for perjury are often paired with "obstruction of justice", at least in the US, since the process of lying under oath almost by definition obstructs the course of justice in a case.
[edit] Historically
In the middle ages, oaths were taken on relics. Thus, perjury was both a religious and a secular transgression, which usually carried the double penalty of excommunication and forfeiture of legal rights. This in turn meant that the perjurer would be unable to take oaths in future court trials, being instead forced to defend himself through the ordeal, single combat or similar less optimal means. Unless, of course, a saint descended from th' heavens and smote the perjurer dead upon the spot with righteous fury. That happened only rarely, however.[1]
In ancient Judaic law, it was punished by inflicting upon the perjurer the same punishment as he had meant to cause against someone else through the perjury.[2]
