Let me see if I can make it clearer. IN England, sovereignty belongs to what is called "The King/Queen in Parliament", and all the laws are built on that assumption. It follows that to lie on oath before Parliament is nothing short of blowing a rapsberry to your own sovereign body; and the results of that are all too imaginable. Even individual members of Parliament are not protected from the results of "misleading the House". It is just about the worst thing that a politician can do. Now, in spite of the Revolution, American law has retained a great many features of English principles, including sovereign immunity, and the special rank of Congress. Indeed, Congress have more power than the British Parliament, since the latter no longer uses the power of impeachment. To lie to Congress upon oath is a jailing matter. No matter what the cause; because if people were allowed to get away with perjury to Congress on small matters, soon they would be getting away with it on big matters. As indeed, alas, is increasingly happening.