Making False Statements

Making false statements, codified in the United States at 18 U.S.C. Section 1001, is a federal process crime that prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or concealing information, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the United States government, and it applies even to a simple denial of guilt when a person is questioned by federal agents. Prosecutors commonly use the statute to pursue cover-up conduct alongside charges such as perjury, false declarations, obstruction of justice and government fraud, and it has produced convictions against high-profile defendants including Martha Stewart, Rod Blagojevich, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, Scooter Libby, Bernard Madoff and Jeffrey Skilling. Its earliest ancestor was the False Claims Act of 1863, a 1934 amendment removed the earlier requirement to prove intent to defraud, and since the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Gaudin in 1995, juries decide whether a false statement was material, since materiality is an essential element of the offense. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/