On March 21, the Supreme Court announced its opinion in Thompson v. United States, reversing the Seventh Circuit and holding that 18 U.S.C. § 1014's prohibition on making "any false statement" does not extend to misleading, but not false, statements. Earlier this year, we wrote on the oral argument in this case. As we suspected, the Court decided—unanimously—that statements which are literally true are not "false statements" under Section 1014, though Justice Alito in concurrence was quick to point out the difference between that statute and other criminal false statement statutes that do embrace "misleading" statements on their face.
In fact, both Justices Alito and Jackson suggested in separate concurrences that the remand to the Seventh Circuit here might be limited, believing the statements at issue to be both misleading and false. And while the Court's definition of "false" here leaves room for debate on whether statements true in fact but false in context are subject to prosecution, the difference between "false" and "misleading" under the statute is enough to send the case back down for another look.
As always, Venable's Investigations and White Collar Defense Group is ready to help navigate changes in federal criminal law wherever they may appear.