It's Only Perjury If You Lie Under Oath

Politicians are not held to the same standards as common citizens, so they sometimes get used to playing loose with the facts to fool the people. It looks like Ronald Williams, the former Wal-Mart lawyer, has a running start on whoppers even before he gets elected to anything. Now he has been found out by a good newspaper reporter and called out on it by a sitting judge.

Lawyer Williams, trying to make people believe he had some experience, said during a candidate forum last month that he tried an average of three felony cases a month when he was a deputy prosecutor. Circuit Judge David Burnett, who was the Prosecuting Attorney at that time, said that Bob Thompson was actually the Deputy Prosecutor and he did not recall Williams prosecuting any felony cases for his office. None. "I don't want to get involved in a political race in Northwest Arkansas," said Judge Burnett, "I'm just telling you the facts. He never tried a criminal case while I was prosecutor."

Lawyer Williams told a reporter that he and Judge Burnett have "different recollections" of his service at this point in time. I guess it depends on what the definition of "trying three felony cases a month for three years" is.