The Daily Caller’s fact-check found no evidence of Murray saying this and linked its spread to a 2013 parody account. Barry Popik documents a related Congress wording in a 2010 Ken Huber opinion piece and earlier parallels. That history does not identify the creator of this exact government-worded sentence. Barry Popik’s earlier chronology ↗
“So, if we lie to the government, it's a felony. But if they lie to us it's politics” Anonymous political saying, misattributed to Bill Murray; related earlier Congress wording documented separately.
⚠ The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Bill Murray. Use the credit shown above instead.
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Evoking the themes of justice and power. Theme: "So, if we lie to the government, it's a felony. But if they lie to us it's politics". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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The Daily Caller’s fact-check found no evidence of Murray saying this and linked its spread to a 2013 parody account. Barry Popik documents a related Congress wording in a 2010 Ken Huber opinion piece and earlier parallels. That history does not identify the creator of this exact government-worded sentence. Murray attribution fact-check ↗Barry Popik’s earlier chronology ↗
Documents related Congress wording credited to Ken Huber in 2010 and earlier parallels; not exact government-version origin. Barry Popik chronology ↗
The original publication of this exact wording has not been established; no public-domain status is asserted.
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Fact-check
Often misattributed
The actor’s name on a parody account is not evidence that he wrote its posts.
✕
Popular creditBill Murray
The Daily Caller’s fact-check found no evidence of Murray saying this and linked its spread to a 2013 parody account. Barry Popik documents a related Congress wording in a 2010 Ken Huber opinion piece and earlier parallels. That history does not identify the creator of this exact government-worded sentence. Murray attribution fact-check ↗Barry Popik’s earlier chronology ↗
The older Congress versions emerged in political commentary about unequal standards of truthfulness. The Murray association came through later online circulation, including an explicitly unaffiliated parody account. Documentary evidence for a related sentence does not identify the creator of this exact modern variant. Murray attribution fact-check ↗Barry Popik’s earlier chronology ↗
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The original creator of this particular wording has not been identified. The sources below document how it circulated or why a famous-name attribution is unsupported. Anonymous here indicates a gap in the evidence; it does not name a known writer or imply public-domain status.
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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘So, if we lie to the government, it's a felony. But if they lie to us it's politics’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/so-if-we-lie-to-the-government-its-a-felony-but-if-they-lie/