🌐
AP News
apnews.com › article › business-33a88feb083ea35515de3c73e3d854ad
James Clapper denies lying to Congress about NSA surveillance program | AP News
August 13, 2021 - James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, denied Tuesday that he lied to Congress when he falsely testified during the Obama administration that the government does "not wittingly" collect the telephone records of millions ...
Discussions

What prevents James Clapper from being punished for deliberately lying to Congress?
He may yet be prosecuted for perjury. However it is very rare because it is hard to prove. There is some "wiggle room" in how he interpreted the question and his answer. Perjury is difficult because you have to prove that he lied willingly with the intent to deceive. Wyden put him in a tough spot, if he answers with 100% honesty he is breaking the law by releasing classified information. If he lies he is committing perjury. If he refuses to answer it could be seen by the public that he is acknowledging the program. So it seems like he chose the route of lying as little as possible and hoping for the best. Part of the reason Congress doesn't like to prosecute perjury is that a lot more people would refuse to answer questions at all for fear that an honest answer would be seen as perjury and they would be punished. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/Ask_Politics
25
50
August 8, 2013
Do you think James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, should be charged with perjury for lying under oath during Senate intelligence hearings?

yes, if Manning/Snowden are traitors for breaking the law then he should be measured with the same yardstick.

More on reddit.com
🌐 r/PoliticalDiscussion
93
130
August 5, 2013
Why was James Clapper not prosecuter for lying to Congress?

I think he explains it right here.

https://icontherecord.tumblr.com/post/139489829858/why-did-you-lie-about-nsa-surveillance-in-front-of

"When Senator Wyden asked me the question I simply didn’t think of the business records telephony metadata, at the time stored by NSA and governed by Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Instead, I thought of content - given his reference to “dossiers” - which, in my mind, meant Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which governs collection on non-U.S. persons overseas.
My statement about inadvertent collection could only apply when we incidentally collect on U.S. persons who are communicating with non-U.S. persons overseas. The statement makes no sense in the context of Section 215, which he was asking about, and only makes sense in the context of Section 702, which is what I was thinking about.
Even if I had been on the same page with Senator Wyden, I would have still been in an awkward position because the existence of the program that he was asking about was classified. We were in an unclassified hearing, and I thought we were talking about an unclassified program.
So, yes, I made a mistake. But I did not lie. There’s a big difference.
J."

It seems ridiculous to prosecute him over this but you can be the judge.

More on reddit.com
🌐 r/AskALiberal
24
5
December 8, 2023
James Clapper of NSA lied to congress about surveillance. Is this illegal? And if so, what will happen to him?
If James Clapper had admitted it he would have been committing a crime to answer since it would have disclosed classified information. As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Senator Ron Wyden would have been given briefings on the program and would have known the answer to this question before asking it. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/Ask_Politics
17
69
June 13, 2013
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/ask_politics › what prevents james clapper from being punished for deliberately lying to congress?
r/Ask_Politics on Reddit: What prevents James Clapper from being punished for deliberately lying to Congress?
August 8, 2013 -

James Clapper, the current director of national intelligence, lied to Congress about NSA surveillance ("not wittingly"), which is a felony, despite Senator Wyden giving him the question a day in advance. In a nation of laws, anyone else that did what he did would be charged and likely sent to prison. Why isn't he being punished?

Top answer
1 of 7
19
He may yet be prosecuted for perjury. However it is very rare because it is hard to prove. There is some "wiggle room" in how he interpreted the question and his answer. Perjury is difficult because you have to prove that he lied willingly with the intent to deceive. Wyden put him in a tough spot, if he answers with 100% honesty he is breaking the law by releasing classified information. If he lies he is committing perjury. If he refuses to answer it could be seen by the public that he is acknowledging the program. So it seems like he chose the route of lying as little as possible and hoping for the best. Part of the reason Congress doesn't like to prosecute perjury is that a lot more people would refuse to answer questions at all for fear that an honest answer would be seen as perjury and they would be punished.
2 of 7
8
So, the way the law is constructed, it is still technically and semantically foreign surveillance. The people they surveil have to be foreign with 51% certainty . Moreover, they can look into records of 3rd degree connections of this person (friend of a friend of a friend). So, if you are a friend of a friend of a friend of someone who the NSA is 51% sure is foreign under suspicion of the NSA, they can look into your metadata, email, etc. Edit 1: This is basically why many people preferred Rep. Amash's amendment to Rep. Pompeo's. While Pompeo's amendment "ensure[s] none of the funds may be used by the NSA to target a U.S. person or acquire and store the content of a U.S. person’s communications, including phone calls and e-mails.” , that would not have actually changed anything the NSA was doing, because they already justify their actions by saying they target foreigners. Edit 2: Added a source
🌐
Michigan Legislature
legislature.mi.gov › documents › 2013-2014 › resolutionintroduced › House › htm › 2013-HIR-0205.htm
calls
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the Congress of the United States and the U.S. Attorney General to prosecute Director of National Intelligence James Clapper for lying to Congress about the National Security Agency's collection of data on U.S.
🌐
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
wyden.senate.gov › news › press-releases › -wyden-statement-on-director-clappers-resignation
Wyden Statement on Director Clapper’s Resignation | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
November 17, 2016 - Regardless of what was going through the director’s head when he testified, failing to correct the record was a deliberate decision to lie to the American people about what their government was doing.
US government official (born 1941)
James Clapper - Wikipedia
James Robert Clapper Jr. (born March 14, 1941) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force and former Director of National Intelligence. Clapper has held several key positions within … Wikipedia
Factsheet
In office August 9, 2010 – January 20, 2017
President Barack Obama
Factsheet
In office August 9, 2010 – January 20, 2017
President Barack Obama
🌐
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › James_Clapper
James Clapper - Wikipedia
1 month ago - When Edward Snowden was asked during a January 26, 2014, television interview in Moscow on what the decisive moment was or what caused him to whistle-blow, he replied: "Sort of the breaking point was seeing the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, directly lie under oath to Congress.
🌐
Archives
petitions.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov › petition › launch-criminal-probe-whether-james-clapper-lied-congress-during-sworn-testimony-march-2013 › index.html
launch a criminal probe of whether James Clapper lied to Congress during sworn testimony in March 2013. | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government
The Obama Administration should request the U.S. Justice Department to launch a criminal probe of whether James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, lied to Congress during sworn testimony in March 2013 when he answered a straightforward question from Senator Wyden. The question was: "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?" James Clapper answered under oath: "No, sir ... not wittingly." ... This petition has been archived because it did not meet the signature requirements.
Find elsewhere
🌐
The Hill
thehill.com › homenews › administration › 432931-dem-rips-clapper-he-needs-to-stop-making-excuses-for-lying-to-the › amp
Dem rips Clapper: He ‘needs to stop making excuses for lying to the American people’
March 6, 2019 - Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) took aim at former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Wednesday after Clapper denied during an interview that he had lied to Congress in his 2013 testimony.
🌐
ABC News
abcnews.com › US › americas-top-spy-james-clapper-made-mistake-lie › story
America's Top Spy James Clapper: 'I Made a Mistake But I Did Not Lie' - ABC News
February 21, 2016 - ... — -- America’s top intelligence official said that while he “made a mistake” when describing the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance programs to a Senate committee, he maintains that he “did not lie.”
🌐
YouTube
youtube.com › katu news
Ron Wyden's exchange with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper - YouTube
Read more about this story here: http://k2ne.ws/1095Nqb
Published: June 11, 2013
Views: 51K
🌐
The Guardian
theguardian.com › world › video › 2013 › jun › 07 › privacy-wyden-clapper-nsa-video
'Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?' -video | World news | The Guardian
July 14, 2017 - Senator Ron Wyden questions director of national intelligence James Clapper in a Senate hearing in March. Clapper has denounced revelations in the media that phone and internet records have been collected on a mass scale.
🌐
Quora
quora.com › Why-wasnt-James-Clapper-convicted-for-perjury
Why wasn't James Clapper convicted for perjury? - Quora
Answer (1 of 4): This claim that Clapper lied before Congress has an interesting mix of supporters—some people on the far left who view Clapper as some part of a nefarious intelligence state out to spy on all of us, and then Trump supporters who look for any way to discredit someone who’s ...
🌐
The Guardian
theguardian.com › world › 2013 › jul › 02 › james-clapper-senate-erroneous
James Clapper: I gave 'erroneous' answer because I forgot about Patriot Act
July 14, 2017 - Intelligence chief tries to explain false Senate testimony by saying he 'simply didn't think' of NSA's efforts to collect phone data
🌐
The Hill
thehill.com › homenews › media › 388823-clapper-on-the-view-fires-back-at-trump-i-didnt-lie
Clapper on ‘The View’ fires back at Trump: ‘I didn’t lie’
May 22, 2018 - James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, denied that he had misled Congress when he testified on the spying activities of the National Security Agency in 2013.
🌐
Citizens' Dawn
citizensdawn.com › story › story › James_Clapper_leaked_information_about_the_Dossier_to_CNN_and_then_lied_to_Congress~_104&login
James Clapper leaked information about the Dossier to CNN and then lied to Congress!
James Clapper instructed Comey ... the "Russian Collusion" investigation! Clapper later lied under oath to Congress, telling them he had never talked to the press about the Dossier!...
🌐
PolitiFact
politifact.com › article › 2014 › mar › 11 › james-clappers-testimony-one-year-later
James Clapper’s testimony one year later
March 11, 2014 - On March 12, 2013, National Intelligence Director James Clapper told Congress that the federal government didn't collect large amounts of data on millions of Americans: "No, sir," and, "Not wittingly." We now know that's not the case. A year later, we're reviewing the testimony with the hindsight ...