casuistry
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcasuistrycas‧u‧is‧try /ˈkæʒuəstri/ noun [uncountable] formalINTELLIGENT the use of clever but often false arguments to answer moral or legal questionsExamples from the Corpuscasuistry• This is not the keeping of the letter by escaping through the loopholes which we have opened up through clever casuistry.• The considerable public and social implications of this piece of casuistry require no comment.• The Minister was engaged in nothing more or less than casuistry.• The moral law had been covered with casuistry and hypocrisy.