to falter; to prevaricate; to equivocate; to stall; to hum and haw 支吾 He hummed and hawed for quite a while before he uttered a few words of comfort. 他吭哧了好一会才说出几句安慰话。
The parliamentary bible, Erskine May, makes it clear that witnesses who "give false evidence, prevaricate, present forged or falsified documents... or attempt in any way to deceive a committee... may be reported to the House and dealt with as determined".