Whenever

Deadlines, schmeadlines:

The Obama administration has decided to give extra time to Americans who say that they are unable to enroll in health plans through the federal insurance marketplace by the March 31 deadline.

Federal officials confirmed Tuesday evening that all consumers who have begun to apply for coverage on HealthCare.gov, but who do not finish by Monday, will have until about mid-April to ask for an extension.

Under the new rules, people will be able to qualify for an extension by checking a blue box on HealthCare.gov to indicate that they tried to enroll before the deadline. This method will rely on an honor system; the government will not try to determine whether the person is telling the truth.

Thus is 18 U.S. Code § 1001 rendered a dead letter. Maybe Scooter Libby will get a pardon after all.

The rules, which will apply to the federal exchanges operating in three dozen states, will essentially create a large loophole even as White House officials have repeatedly said that the March 31 deadline was firm. The extra time will not technically alter the deadline but will create a broad new category of people eligible for what’s known as a special enrollment period.

It's somewhat like those "very special" episodes of television shows we used to see back in the day.

Of course, there's no reason to believe that 18 U.S. Code § 1001 is really a dead letter -- lying to a federal official will still be a felony, if the gubmint wants it to be. You'll just have to guess when the law applies. Have fun with that.