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Helen Norton

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    Government Ethics

    Can the Constitution stop the government from lying to the public?

    Helen Norton
    February 14, 2020
    The Constitution and the American flag

    "My research found that lies by government officials can violate the Constitution in several different ways, especially when those lies deprive people of their rights," writes Helen Norton.

    alancrosthwaite/iStock/Getty Images

    Norton is the Rothgerber chair in Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado Boulder.

    When regular people lie, sometimes their lies are detected, sometimes they're not. Legally speaking, sometimes they're protected by the First Amendment – and sometimes not, like when they commit fraud or perjury.

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