Perjury, Bribery: Which Is Treated More Harshly?
Do federal judges treat perjury and obstruction of justice as more serious offenses than bribery?
Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.), one of the 13 House prosecutors, made that assertion Friday during his argument.
While the Constitution lists “bribery” as an impeachable offense, “the federal sentencing guidelines provide for greater punishment for perjury and obstruction of justice than they do bribery,” he said.
McCollum displayed a graph showing bribery as a 10-point offense, and perjury and obstruction as 12-point offenses.
John Steer, a spokesman for the U.S. Sentencing Commission, said that McCollum was right in one sense and incorrect in another.
“It is a little more complicated,” he said. If the bribery involves any elected official or “any official holding a high-level or sensitive position,” it is punished more severely than perjury or obstruction of justice, according to the guidelines.
In a typical case, a first-time offender who is convicted of perjury or obstruction of justice would be sentenced to 10 to 16 months in prison, the guidelines say. Bribery involving an elected official would result in a 27- to 33-month sentence.
The sentencing guidelines were adopted by Congress in 1987 and are used by judges to punish those convicted of federal crimes.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
