Quote:
Originally Posted by madlex
Isn’t it standard practice to answer “I do not recall” to questions you don’t want to answer but have to? In theory you are obviously not allowed to say that if you do know, but there’s basically no way to proof that without evidence or to refute selective amnesia without a lie detector.
Saying under oath that you "don't recall" X can lead to an indictment for perjury. A lie detector is not how proof of perjury is established. There may be conflicting evidence, tapes, other witnesses, etc.
If I recall, with the memory aid of the NYT, John Ehrlichman testified under oath that he did not recall telling someone that raising Watergate hush money should be kept secret. He was indicted, convicted and did time for perjury, among other counts.
Also, where the thing "you don't recall" is so unique and would have been clearly significant, you may be inviting a perjury charge, based on the question and follow-ups.
For a hypothetical example, asked under oath whether you recall telling Justin that you had trouble with the format of the live data feed he was sending your phone, I would think either a truthful statement of "That never happened" or invoking the Fifth likely is a better answer than " I don't recall"" .