Eleanor Holmes Norton: “Your point about an officer of the court is something that most Americans may be unaware of. Every piece of paper that a…”

“Your point about an officer of the court is something that most Americans may be unaware of. Every piece of paper that a lawyer files before a court of any kind-- it may seem perfunctory--is subject to perjury precisely because when you're admitted to the bar, you become an officer of the court. So you risk your professional life because you could be disbarred not only for committing perjury, but even for misstatements in an offering before a court. That's the high standard to which we, who are members of the bar, are held. And for that reason, it would be unseemly for any lawyer, much less the highest lawyer in the land, to risk perjury. And I submit that not only has perjury not been committed; the word ``perjury'' should never have entered into this conversation without the slightest bit of evidence. That's what ``reckless'' means, and I thank the gentlelady for the question.”