Message Board Archives

Those words are the easiest trick in the book.

Can someone be convicted of lying for saying they don't remember a specific event?

There is a simple explanation to that question.

In reply to black

Thankfully jurors decide what is fact and what is fiction. Dis amnesia on all things Russian is incredible

In reply to black

Careful.

During the G W Bush era there was emerging technology that purported memory 'recognition', effectively saying that any knowledge gained is etched in memory and can be retrieved via some coercion methods.

If GW ever did anything good, it was 'killing' the idea. But, with this lunatic running around, don't temp him.

In reply to black

No. But any judge listening to testimony riddled with "I cannot recall" will draw an adverse inference especially if the demeanor of the witness suggest evasion of the question. In these circumstances, a judge will most likely determine that the witness is not credible (ie. he/she is a lying bastard).

In reply to SnoopDog

Yuh tink a man cud get way wid telling he wife "I cannot recall asking the lady for her number" ?

In reply to nick2020

Or how bout "I cannot recall if I grabbed her by the pussy".

In reply to SnoopDog

She can recall though.

Whether, someone can recall or not is really not all that relevant, the burden is on the prosecution to prove their case anyway. Under the 5th amendment, defendants have the right to not incriminate themselves. Just because someone cannot recall a specific event, doesn't mean the event didn't happen. It just makes the prosecution's case harder. They simply have to find other evidence or witnesses to corroborate their case.

In reply to SnoopDog

But no, I don't think they can prosecute someone for not remembering. They will find ways of going around your lies by producing evidence. People do get charged with lying under oath, when evidence contradicts their statements.

Ronald Reagan mastered the "i don't recall" line! And got away with it!

In reply to googley



I think Bill Clinton used that line a lot too.

In reply to googley


It wasn't just Reagan. Remember the Clarence Thomas / Anita Hill hearing?

When Arlen Spector continued to ask Anita Hill about the many phone messages she left for Thomas after she departed the EEOC, she repeatedly responded, "I don't recall." "I can't recall."

The frustrated senator, now at his wit's end, asked "You've recalled with great detail the horrible statements made to you by Judge Thomas, yet you offer no explanation for these numerous and consistent calls you placed to him long after you left his office?" (paraphrased).....

Hill, like a broken record, and much to the dismay of Spector and others replied, "I don't recall."

Reality TV at it's best!

In reply to SirGarny



I think we're going to hear a lot of that with Trump and his boys.