[DoofusOfDeath]

Lying to Congress is (I assume) illegal. But when it's done by a powerful entity, is there really much practical risk to the liar?

Perhaps I'm being overly cynical, but my impression was that high-profile Congressional hearings are mostly a form of political theater.

[rurp]

I'm pretty sure these hearing are almost entirely theater and there's basically no chance Tim Cook gets personally charged with a crime. But, these statements can have large second and third order effects. The worse the tech CEOs and their companies look, the more political will there will be for passing significant legislation that affects them.

[b4ke]

They are under oath with the potential for a perjury charge if they are caught knowingly misleading the lawmakers asking them questions.... The only reason that people such as those who were speaking yesterday would ever "correct" themselves.