In order to deter and punish false testimony under oath, the U.S. Congress enacted Title 18 U.S.C., sections 1621, 1622, and 1623. Section 1621, the broadest of the three Federal perjury statutes, applies to all material statements or information provided under oath to “a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered.” Congress enacted section 1623 in order to “facilitate perjury prosecutions and thereby enhance the reliability of testimony before Federal courts and grand juries.” This statute applies only to statements or information provided under oath “in any proceeding before or ancillary to any court or grand jury of the United States.” Section 1622 prohibits convincing another to commit “any perjury,” whether under the requirements of sections 1621 or 1623, although the elements of the offense the government must prove will correlate with whether section 1621 or section 1623 underlies the section 1622 prosecution. In order to be convicted of subornation of perjury, the defendant must have persuaded a witness to perjure himself/herself; and that witness must actually have committed perjury. The elements of perjury and subornation of perjury are oath, intent, falsity, and materiality. Defenses that may be used by those charged with perjury or subornation of perjury are recantation, assistance of counsel, double jeopardy, a perjury “trap,” and the fifth amendment. In discussing sentencing under these three sections, this article refers to the relevant U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. 171 notes