Brett Favre will be questioned under oath in Mississippi welfare fraud case

Brett Favre will soon be asked an important question.

“Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give in this matter is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

The Hall of Fame quarterback will give a deposition later this month in the Mississippi civil lawsuit arising from allegations of welfare fraud, according to A.J. Perez of FrontOfficeSports.com.

Favre’s lawyers have previously said he will not invoke the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination. While irrelevant and inadmissible in a criminal proceeding, taking the Fifth in a civil case becomes virtually fatal to the person’s defense.

The case is moving forward after Favre tried desperately to secure his dismissal from the case, brought by the Mississippi Department of Human Services to collect millions in allegedly misspent welfare dollars. Every court at ever level in Mississippi rejected his effort.

It’s risky for Favre, who has insisted on his innocence, to subject himself to aggressive questioning by a skilled and experienced lawyer. Skilled and experienced lawyers have seen it all, heard it all, and know how to deal with every shape and size of alleged wrongdoer who believes they can talk their way out of any problem.

Favre needs to be told — and he needs to understand — that this isn’t about doing battle with the lawyer. It’s about giving truthful answers to the questions asked. It’s about conceding that which needs to be conceded. The harder a stubborn defendant tries to fight back against obvious facts, the deeper the hole gets.

And, yes, the hole can get deep enough that someone who otherwise was never going to prosecuted ends up being prosecuted for perjury.