Congress, Clemens, and Baseball

So, was yesterday good for you? Did you get all the answers you wanted to hear from Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee? If you did, you weren't paying attention.

There were no answers. There was no truth.

There were only allegations and accusations.

Evidence, such as it was, was thin and circumstantial. Some of it was salacious and the Members certainly got their face time.

This is what Congress decided was so important that they had to devote time and energy on? If they were going to hold hearings on this, at least they could get real information and strip away the allegations to get at facts.

I consider this to be the minority report on yesterday. Michael McCann is a law professor and specializes in sports law. He thinks that Clemens did what he had to do yesterday, which isn't so much clear his name as to eliminate the possibility of being hit with perjury or obstruction charges.

On the other hand, you've got Mike Lupica, who is a sportswriter and has followed the Yankees for years. He rightfully notes that there are serious inconsistencies in Clemens statements and those made by Clemens teammate and best friend Andy Pettitte, which could lead to charges being brought since if Pettitte's version of events is true, it would mean that Clemens couldn't be telling the truth.

Clemens says that Pettitte is misremembering events.

That's two people who Clemens is saying is misremembering events: Pettitte and McNamee. The weight of evidence seems to be pushing against Clemens.

If Congress was so intent upon trying to get kids to no longer take steroids or hgh or other performance enhancing drugs, their best witness would have been Pettitte or Chuck Knoblauch, not Clemens or McNamee.

Both Pettitte and Knoblauch admit to taking performance enhancing drugs, and both are extremely recalcitrant and apologetic for their usage. Indeed, Pettitte acknowledged to using hgh in more instances than McNamee alleged, but came forward claiming that he had to do the right thing for him, his family and between him and God.

And what was it about the Members splitting into pro- or anti-Clemens based on party affiliation (and not without members on both sides of the aisle showing that this hearing was not about facts, truth, or evidence gathering, but their own face time in front of the cameras).

I can understand Rep. Issa's (R-CA) position that he opposed the hearings on grounds that Congress has more important business to attend to than holding hearings on a purely private business matter (which baseball's internal affairs and conduct is).

There are good reasons to question McNamee's integrity, and it shouldn't be limited to GOP or Democrat on the panel to ask those questions - if they were indeed intent on asking the questions. With Democrat Henry Waxman leading the charge - and going after Clemens, he took a softer approach with McNamee, which predicated others on the panel to ask McNamee tough questions.

All in all, what a waste.

UPDATE:
The stupidity never ends. This guy thinks that President Bush will issue Clemens a pardon. How many pardons has the President issued in his entire term in office? Off the top of my head, I can think of only one - Scooter Libby. He's been downright miserly with this power of the office of the President and I don't expect that to change for someone who hasn't even been charged with a crime.

Roger Clemens Files Defamation Suit Over Steroid Accusations

This should get entertaining. Roger Clemens is suing Brian McNamee for defamation for the claims made to Major League Baseball's George Mitchell, who released a report claiming that Clemens took steroids administered by McNamee. It's the only way that Roger Clemens can clear his name, but the entertaining part is how Clemens has to prove his case.

Roger Clemens beat Brian McNamee to court, filing a defamation suit against the former trainer who claimed to have injected him with performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens filed the suit Sunday night in Harris County District Court in Texas, listing 15 alleged statements McNamee made to the baseball drug investigator George Mitchell. Clemens claimed the statement were "untrue and defamatory."

"According to McNamee, he originally made his allegations to federal authorities after being threatened with criminal prosecution if he didn't implicate Clemens," according to the 14-page petition, obtained early Monday by The Associated Press.

The key in these kinds of cases is the discovery. It opens up McNamee's lawyers to ask all kinds of questions of Clemens and call into question Clemens' conduct and character. Clemens has a very tough case to prove here, and going on 60 Minutes to proclaim his innocence isn't sufficient.

Going before Congress and testifying under oath would be a sigificant step, but if h says something before Congress that is contradicted by other statements made, he could find himself in trouble for perjury.

It's a very sticky situation, and one of his own doing.