This lesson picks up where Part 1 of Perjury and False Declarations left off, continuing our review of the elements required to prove a violation of the general-perjury statute and the false-declarations statute.

I.  Knowledge and Willfulness

Under both statutes, the government must prove that the defendant knew the alleged false statement was false when the defendant made it. Thus, a genuine mistake or faulty recollection won’t support a conviction. The general-perjury statute also...