In fact under the federal sentencing guidelines people who are convicted of perjury or obstruction of justice are punished more harshly than those who commit the crime of bribery. And that's why if President Clinton committed the crimes of perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering he should be impeached . Under the Constitution impeachable offenses are treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors. The President is the Chief Executive of the nation, the Chief Law Enforcement Officer and our military's Commander in Chief. If we tolerate such serious crimes as perjury and obstruction of justice by the President of the Unites States and fail to impeach him there will be grave, damaging consequences for our system of government.
Studies show that perjury is an increasingly common occurrence in our courts.
Contrary to what some have asserted there are numerous recent examples of federal prosecutions of perjury in civil cases. There are at least 115 people in federal prisons today for perjury in civil cases. If he has committed these crimes and is not impeached a terrible message will go out across the country that will undermine the integrity of our court system. We will not only send the message that there is a double standard and that the President of the United States is above the law in these matters, but also a message that these crimes are not as serious as some people once thought they were. More people in the future will likely commit perjury in the courts than would be the case if the President were impeached.