THE WASHINGTON POST, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1978
When a presidential candidate makes campaign promises and then, when elected, breaks them, that is a moral and political issue that can ' be settled at the ballot box. But if a candidate for appointed public office adopts those promises as. his intended policies in sworn public testimony at his confirmation hearing, knowing that he does not intend to carry them outÛÓand canÛªt, because of a prior secret political dealÛÓthat is not Û¢ only a moral and political issue but also a serious legal one:</br></br>When a presidential candidate makes campaign promises and then, when elected, breaks them, that is a moral and political issue that can ' be settled at the ballot box. But if a candidate for appointed public office adopts those promises as. his intended policies in sworn public testimony at his confirmation hearing, knowing that he does not intend to carry them outÛÓand canÛªt, because of a prior secret political dealÛÓthat is not Û¢ only a moral and political issue but also a serious legal one: Û¢	The moral and political issue is whether the country will stomach such devious conduct by the appointed public official.</br></br>Û¢	The legal issue is whether the law has been brokenÛÓfor it is clear that if a candidate for appointive public office willfully gives false testimony to a ÛÏcompetent tribunal,Û such as a duly</br></br>The writer, a Philadelphia lawyer, is a former chairman of the board of governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association and chairman of Philadelphia Lawyers for Justice.	.</br></br>convened confirmation hearing, tjiat has been held to be a criminal offense designated In law as perjury.	.