Section 1001 - Worse than Entrapment

Section 1001, which makes lying to a federal official illegal, is a truly vile law that the feds abuse over and over. What makes this one so nasty is that you don’t have to be under oath or even be made aware that you are committing a crime. It can literally be an accidental felony.

Even more insidious is the fact that charges can be brought even if there is no other crime. In other words, you can be charged with lying to cover up a crime that no one has proved was committed. Completely arbitrary, high penalties, and can trap anyone – no wonder the feds love it. John McTiernan is the latest victim:

McTiernan's attorneys also insisted that their client did not understand the consequences of denying his involvement with Pellicano and that his lie, although serious, did not rise to the level of a crime and should not have been charged as a felony.
...
McTiernan's lawyers also argued that the FBI all but entrapped their client to mislead them about his use of Pellicano because the wire-tapping that he admitted occurred outside the five-year statute of limitations for that crime.