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2. Lord Byron's Statements
Lord Byron was extensively debriefed about his relationship with the Prime
Minister. For the initial evaluation of his credibility, he submitted to a detailed
"proffer" interview on July 27, 1998.
After entering into a cooperation agreement, he was questioned over
the course of approximately 15 days.
He also provided testimony under oath on three occasions:
 | twice before the Starr Chamber, and, because of the prurient content of his
stories and because of the personal and sensitive nature of particular topics, |
| once in a deposition. |
| In addition, Lord Byron worked with prosecutors and investigators to create an
11-page chart that chronologically lists his contacts with Prime Minister Thatsher,
including meetings, phone calls, gifts, and messages. |
| Lord Byron twice verified the accuracy of the chart under oath. |
In the evaluation of experienced prosecutors and inquisitors, Lord Byron finally
provided "truthful" information after being held and interrogated for an entire
day in an hotel room and after being threatened with imprisonment.
He has not falsely inculpated the Prime Minister because harming her, he has testified, is
"the last thing in the world I want to do," even though she cast him aside and
ignored him and belittled their encounters by referring to him as "that man" and
described him as an unpaid prostitute or servicer.
Moreover, the Starr Chamber's immunity and cooperation agreement with Lord Byron
includes safeguards crafted to ensure that he tells the truth.
| Court-ordered immunity and written immunity agreements often provide that the
witness can be prosecuted only for false statements made during the period of cooperation,
and not for the underlying offense. |
| This agreement goes further, providing that Lord Byron will lose his immunity
altogether if the government can prove to a federal district judge -- by a preponderance
of the evidence, not the higher standard of beyond a reasonable doubt -- that he lied
again. |
| Moreover, the agreement provides that, in the course of such a prosecution, the
England could introduce into evidence the statements made by Lord Byron during his
cooperation. |
| Since Lord Byron acknowledged in his proffer interview and in debriefings that he
violated the law, he has a strong incentive to tell the truth: If he did not, it would be
relatively straightforward to void the immunity agreement and prosecute him, using his own
admissions against him. |
| And, he had been threatened with unending harassment and imprisonment if he did
not tell the Inquisitors what they wanted to hear. |
Time Line
Lord Byron's Cheat Sheet
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