CNN - Craig could be charged with perjury...

[kerry-is-my-prez]

With the statements that he has been making - saying that he lied under oath in court.

[AlCzervik]

1. hmm, so Craig will now be impeached right?

[CottonBear]

5. I don't think that senators can be impeached. I may be wrong though.

He can resign or not run for office again.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. Senators Can Be Impeached

eom

[CottonBear]

12. Thanks. I think he'll resign. I think the GOP will throw him under the bus. n/t

[kerry-is-my-prez]

16. They already have - they're just hoping he'll go away asap.

The longer he sticks around the worse things will be for the Repubs.

[CottonBear]

25. If he doesn't resign, will they back the bus back over him or just ignore him?

I think they'll ignore him. He's toast.

[hatrack]

21. Mittens already did - and I mean, within hours of the story breaking

Another principled stand from the putative GOP front-runner.

[malaise]

31. Ding ding

Coleman says he must go.

[Perky]

17. No they can't but they can be expelled.

[AlCzervik]

22. Senator William Blount was impeached. Maybe they've changed the rules since then.

[MonkeyFunk]

34. No they cannot

they can, however, be expelled by the Senate.

[CottonBear]

2. What is the alleged lie? n/t

[soothsayer]

4. He signed that guilty plea when he knew he wasn't guilty

[CottonBear]

10. Oy! n/t

[kerry-is-my-prez]

8. He said that he didn't actually do the things that pleaded guilty to in court.

That he just made it all up and agreed to plead guilty to "make it go away."

[northernsoul]

14. which is hysterical

because Minnesota requires people who are pleading guilty to affirm that they are waiving any and all claims of innocence and also makes them affirm that they committed each and every act of the charged offense.

[soothsayer]

3. lol, the boy just keeps digging hisself deeper

[wicket]

20. it's so delicious to watch them self destruct

:rofl:

[mountainvue]

6. He should be. Anyone who has ever sat in a court

room knows that once you have plead guilty it's over. We have a fucking senator now that doesn't know the law?

[gatorboy]

7. Isn't he a naughty boy!

A naughty, naughty, bad boy!

[Kadie]

9. LOL

:rofl:

[northzax]

13. ahem...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3485259&mesg_id=3485259

I do like being ahead of CNN...

[CottonBear]

18. Of course, it's the perjury! Thanks for pointing this out northzax! n/t

[rodeodance]

15. In his mind he is guilty of a wide stance and picking up papers. so no lying accurred

[BOSSHOG]

19. Is it a crime if a republican commits perjury? Isn't that one of their VALUES?

[janetle]

23. Lies about sex are the worst--even worse than lies about war.

[RB TexLa]

24. Ridiculous, under that concept there could be no pleading down cases and you'd have to throw out the

5th amendment to prosecute it.

[Jim__]

26. I don't follow your reasoning.

The fifth amendment:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Plea bargaining shouldn't involve perjury; it involves reducing the cirme that you are charged with, e.g. reducing felonious assaut to disorderly conduct. You're not lying when you admit to being disorderly. There may be cases where you plead to a crime totally unrelated to the original charge; but I'm not familiar with it.

Also, I don't see where the 5th amendment comes into play here.

[RB TexLa]

27. If you commit murder and plead guilty to committing manslaughter

under this concept you have perjured yourself by your guilty plea. Under the 5th amendment you can plead guilty to the crime you didn't commit to avoid the charge of the crime you did commit, you don't have to say "no it wasn't manslaughter, I went there to kill that MF'er!"

[Jim__]

28. The difference here is that Craig is claiming he isn't guilty of anything.

From one of the stories:

His deepest regret, he said, is that he pleaded guilty when he had done nothing wrong.

The senator said he had chosen to plead guilty without consulting a lawyer and before telling his family, in the hope that the case would just “go away.”

“That was a mistake, and I deeply regret it,” he said.

I'm not sure how the courts view pleading guilty to something you didn't do. I know there is a "nolo contendere" plea thatyou can enter. But my understanding is that Craig swore he committed the crime.

That's different than pleading to manslaughter when you've committed 1st degree murder.

[RB TexLa]

30. The court doesn't care if you don't think you committed the crime

the judge looks at the evidence and looks at what is being plead to and accepts or doesn't accept the plea deal.

They read through about five minutes of what rights you are giving up to you when you plead guilty. He was told he could go speak with an attorney before entering his plea, I'd bet dollars to donuts the judge also made him say if he wished to consult with an attorney in the courtroom out loud before taking the plea.

[Kingshakabobo]

33. I'm with you...

CNN is really doing some major league stretching on this. So defendants that plead guilty and subsequently exonerated by DNA should be charged with perjury?

[ecstatic]

29. Gosh, karma's a btch ain't it? Now he knows what it feels like

to be asked to discuss one's sex life under oath.

[Javaman]

32. And yet abu gonzo doesn't. nt