Sadly, Roger Clemens is going to get away with blatantly lying in front of Congress. You will be hard-pressed to find somebody with a lower opinion of Congress than me, but this sends a horrible message. For better or worse, Congress relies on testimony and hearings in crafting legislation. If people can wantonly perjure themselves, the system breaks down more than it already has.
We can debate whether Clemens and other suspected PED users should have been called to testify in the first place. As soon as he was under oath, the government has to prosecute if perjury is suspected. The indignation of sports figures being hauled before Congress is also laughable because it’s nothing new. Jackie Robinson and Casey Stengel went before Congress in the ’50s to defend the Reserve Clause.
The Feds did have a pretty weak case. Calling Andy Pettitte to testify was asinine. Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, has shown himself to not be the bumpkin he appeared in publicly defending his client. He has skillfully eviscerated a witness who wasn’t that credible to begin with. The circumstantial evidence like calling in beer can experts is literally putting jurors to sleep.
While Clemens will get off and avoid jail, he will still be guilty in the court of public opinion. Losing what he feels is his rightful place in history probably will hurt Clemens most of all.
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