I posted this in a different thread, but it fits better here.
IS IT OK TO BE DECEPTIVE?
YES - Watchtower Oct 1, 1954, par 21, 25
"No harm is practiced by withholding incriminating information from one who is not entitled to know."
YES - Watchtower May 1, 1957 Page 285 - 286.
"So in time of spiritual warfare it is proper to misdirect the enemy by hiding the truth."
YES - Watchtower June 1, 1960, pages 351-352
"We must tell the truth to one who is entitled to know, but if one is not so entitled we may be evasive."
YES - Insight On The Scriptures, Volume 2, 1988 pages 244-245.
"While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled to it"
YES - w07 2/1 p. 6 Why Be Truthful?
So while Jesus did not utter an untruth, he gave them an incomplete answer in order to limit the possible harm they could do to him or to his followers.
Theocratic warfare has long been a feature of the WT's dealings with worldly authorities.