Stephen L. Carter, Columnist

Lying to Investigators Shouldn't Be a Crime

Everyone from President Trump to a petty thief is at the same disadvantage when talking to prosecutors.

February 16, 2018 at 12:39 PM EST

Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a professor of law at Yale University and author of “Invisible: The Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster.”

So what if he lies?
Photographer: Dima Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images

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Former federal prosecutor Ken White created a stir with his recent argument at Reason.com that neither President Donald Trump nor anyone else should voluntarily meet with investigators. By anyone else, White does not simply mean other people facing scrutiny in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. He means you and me. Ever.

According to White, the only reason prosecutors ever really want to interview targets is to trap them into a story and catch them in a lie. If they’re after you, you can’t talk your way out of trouble. Sure, you might have information that would exonerate you, but your lawyer can instead convey it informally to the investigators, without any risk.

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