Reader Phil Gallagher writes us with a most interesting question on Rathergate:

After several requests by email and finally a call to the justice department without a response I see a UPI story that the Department of Justice had looked at the CBS fraud and an unnamed official opined that "no federal laws were violated" in the scam.

Can that be true? They mean that if I conspire along with others to forge state or federal documents in order to alter the outcome of a national election I am within the laws of the country?

Let me get this straight, I am an influential producer of a national news program who confers regularly (Mapes, Lockhart and Clanton) with members of an opposing party to strategize on how to bring to light a story which I know to be untrue, I am not breaking any federal election or conspiracy laws? Its a tight race near the end in which a small fact could swing the balance but I am not limited to producing small facts but can instead foist a huge lie on the electorate? I can do all of this and get away with it but if i have a small bag of weed I can get a mandatory sentence?

Truth is stranger than fiction.