WASHINGTON - People who lie to government agencies by simply saying "no" to potentially incriminating questions can be convicted of felonies, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.

By a 7-2 vote, the court upheld a former New York union official's conviction for lying to federal investigators who questioned him about taking illegal cash payments. James Brogan was convicted under a broadly worded federal law that forbids knowingly and willfully making "any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations" to the government, even without being under oath.

Some federal appeals courts had limited the law's reach by creating an exception - known as the "exculpatory no doctrine" - that barred such prosecution for merely denying criminal conduct.

The justices struck down that doctrine, ruling that it goes against the federal law's plain language and is not required by the Constitution's Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. In a related decision last week, the court allowed government agencies to dole out extra punishment for employees who lie while being investigated for employment-related misconduct.

Analyst Notes:
"Section 1001 reads in full:
Whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."