I fully take your point about damage done, sure, but framing someone is an act of deception. If it is _ultimately_ uncovered, then the deception did not hold.
However, nobody would "frame" someone for deception's sake. There's gotta be an underlying motive. If the deception works to achieve that goal (or even 90% of it) I'd say its pretty successful.
I agree it's a weird gray area though and you're correct that a "perfect framing" would never be found out.
> If the deception works to achieve that goal (or even 90% of it) I'd say its pretty successful.
That is true, but also anyone (With the usual exception of "untouchable" state agencies) who is found out to be framing someone, can expect to be prosecuted, regardless of if their frame was found before the intended damage was done, or after.
> "nobody would frame someone for deception's sake"
What you must have meant is that most people would not.
I have known people who certainly would, even without any antipathy toward the person framed, just because they could. Stir in a trace of resentment, and they would go out of their way to do it.
Maybe you have heard of Alex Jones, Roger Stone, or Steve Bannon? They have ardent fans.
They could do anything else, but chose what they do. They do it because it is what they like doing. Their fans, who get no publicity, admire them for their actual ratfucking activity.
("Ratfucking" here is a technical term in politics.)
It depends on the ultimate goal of the one doing the framing though. If it was to just get someone removed from their position, it doesn't matter if it is later found to have been a case of being framed. It is unlikely the person will be reinstated. So in those cases, the framing was successful.
This is why there are usually legal penalties for framing someone - so that "it does matter".
If someone in a corporate setting gained a position by framing a rival, and it was then found out, there's a "wrongful termination" lawsuit against the company waiting to happen. Why would HR let the culprit continue in that position? Getting fired for malfeasance is IMHO not exactly "success".
This is only a _risk_ not a certainty for the criminal who does it, but being found out does matter.
This type of thing does not necessarily mean that the person doing the framing is going to be the one replacing the job role. It doesn't even have to be done from an employee in the company. It could be done for any number of reasons. Someone from a competitor does it so that their company gets the benefit vs personal benefit. So so many other possibilities.
In these situations, the person that filled the role is not guilty of anything.
