Roger Clemens: enemy of the State

Clemens.jpg

So the Department of Justice has finally decided to stop wasting its time chasing escort service owners and that clown governor (oh, that’s right – they’re still after HIM) and moved on to really important matters: prosecuting Roger Clemens for allegedly lying to Congress about whether he used performance enhancing drugs or not. Big stuff. I mean, clearly the question of whether baseball had a steroids problem in the recent past (note to Congress ; we all know that it did), and whether or not the likes of Mr. Clemens were among the malefactors are issues that fully warranted a Congressional investigation, and now a costly prosecution by the United States Attorney’s office. I’m not really a Roger Clemens fan, and never really have been. But I have to say that the notion of prosecuting him for lying to Congress about whether or not he used steroids is more than a little bit silly. I don’t mean to make light of the obligation to testify truthfully. But I have to question whether chasing down a guy who supposedly perjured himself during a Congressional investigation that was a waste of time and money in the first place is really a wise use of prosecutorial resources and taxpayer dollars. I guess after hounding the D.C. Madam to death these guys need something to do

 

Update 8/23/10: Jonathan Tobin of Commentary is equally skeptical as to the wisdom of the federal government’s investigation and prosecution of Clemens, and of Barry Bonds, as I am. As Tobin observes, correctly in my view, you might think that Roger Clemens is little more than a liar and a cheat. But it does not follow from such judgments that the federal government’s actions in this case are either warranted or wise. The feds have, in fact, engaged in nothing more than a colossal waste of taxpayer money. Why don’t they find another escort service owner to hound to death?

  • Share/Bookmark

Naomi Campbell: War Criminal?

Seems a little absurd, no? But apparently prosecutors are considering looking into whether Ms. Campbell violated South African law by possessing - just possessing - so-called "blood diamonds". It seems that in September of 1997, while visiting South Africa, Ms. Campbell was given 3 stones that ...

Read the full article »

Episcopal Church Pokes Itself In The Eye Again

Like Lord Voldemort, the embodiment of pure evil from the Harry Potter stories, Charles Bennison, the once defrocked Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania, is back. The Episcopal Church's top appelate tribunal, the Court of Review of the Trial of a Bishop, last week issued an opinion that in effect exonerated Bennison of charges that he ...

Read the full article »

Short Stay for Lohan

According to one of the British tabloids, looks like Lindsay Lohan will be released from jail soon, having likely served not more than 9 days of a 90 day sentence imposed last week for her for violations of the terms of the probation she was serving for various prior offenses, including charges for drunk ...

Read the full article »

Free Jeff Skilling

The United States Supreme Court took a substantial step toward doing just that yesterday when it vacated Skilling's conviction under the federal "honest services" wire fraud statute, and remanded the case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether Skilling's conviction on other charges ...

Read the full article »

Kagan’s Notes on Bush v. Gore Raise Significant Questions

According to the Wall Street Journal, among the documents that the Senate Judiciary Committee has posted relating to the Kagan nomination are handwritten notes that the nominee made for a speech she was to deliver to Princeton University alumni in 2003. The notes, according to the Journal's account of their contents, reveal Kagan's misgivings ...

Read the full article »

I Didn’t Read the Documents, But That’s OK, File the Lawsuit Anyway

As I've been following the semi-furor over Eric Holder's revelation before a Congressional committee that he hasn't read the Arizona immigration statute - a law that he'd earlier suggested he'd have the government sue to invalidate - I've been wondering how such an approach would work in private practice. In that context, not having read ...

Read the full article »

Philadelphia’s Fiscal Mess

In a great post on Philadelphia Magazine's Philly Post, former news anchor Larry Mendte asks why there isn;t more outrage here in Philadelphia in response to the significant tax increases that City Council has dumped on us in what will surely be a losing effort to try and shore up the City's woeful ...

Read the full article »

Obama’s Disingenuous Attack on “Judicial Activism”

One of the longest running debates in American politics - and one on which the conservative side has fairly consistently prevailed - involves the proper role of the courts in our Constitutional system. Polls have consistently shown that a solid majority of the electorate agrees that the courts should limit themselves toppling the law, and ...

Read the full article »

Its Not Business, Its Personal

During last night's installment of celebrity apprentice, that's what Sharon Osborne told Trump when he asked her why she was so emotional during the boardroom confrontation at the end of which Osborne was fired. It happens that the charity for which Osborne was playing was very personal to her, and thus her plea that it ...

Read the full article »

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes