A series of tweets from Professor Jed Shugerman was the subject of a recent Newsweek article. Shugerman outlined why lying to protect the president in hopes of a pardon would be a “bad idea” for U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland.
Fordham University law professor Jed Shugerman took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to weigh in on U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s upcoming testimony in the public impeachment hearing. Ahead of the diplomat’s appearance before the House Intelligence Committee, Shugerman laid out why lying to shield the president and hoping for a pardon in return would be “a bad idea.”
“Pardons don’t affect state law,” he stated as his first reason as to why Sondland shouldn’t lie. If Sondland were to commit perjury, he could be pardoned by federal law, but that would still not excuse him from being prosecuted in New York state.
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Shugerman shared excerpts of New York laws regarding extortion and conspiracy. One law points out that any conspiracy to commit a punishable offense outside of New York can be prosecuted in New York, as long as that agreement is made in New York.