A former Congressman, who was highly active in the Congressional witch-hunt targeting athletes who used anabolic steroids, doesn’t believe the Justice Department should continue its pursuit of Roger Clemens on charges that he lied about his use of steroids. Former United States Representative Tom Davis doesn’t seem to think Clemens is telling the truth but he feels that Clemens has suffered enough and has already paid the price for lying to Congress.
“He’s lost his money. He’s probably lost his chance at the Hall,” Davis told reporters. “I think he’s suffered enough.”
The former Major League Baseball pitcher has been accused of lying about his use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone when he was interrogated for over three hours by members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in February 2008.
Tom Davis was the top Republican on the Committee. According to Davis, Clemens insisted on testifying before Congress, even though he was not required, in order to clear his name of allegations made by former trainer Brian McNamee in the Mitchell Report.
Rusty Hardin, the attorney for Clemens, responded by calling Davis a hypocritical “son of a bitch”. “So Tom Davis, who I saw on TV last night, comes down to us, calls us aside and urges us to have Roger testify,” according to Hardin. “And now that son of a bitch is on TV saying that Roger insisted upon it.”
The current chairman of the Oversight committee doesn’t think Clemens should be prosecuted by the Justice Department either. Chairman Darrell Issa has been critical of his predecessor, Henry Waxman, who spearheaded the Congressional inquisition of Major League Baseball players suspected of using steroids.
“I don’t believe that we were deceived by Roger Clemens,” said Issa. “I don’t believe that his false testimony when he gave it was anything other than Henry Waxman trapping him into perjury.”
The criticism of the steroid witch-hunt has not stopped the prosecution of Clemens. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that Clemens must face another trial on the steroid perjury charges. The judge had previously declared a mistrial earlier this summer after prosecutors mishandled evidence but now the case is set to resume in April 2012.
The witch-hunt marches on…
Source:
Wilson, R. (August 13, 2011). Former House Member: Drop Probe of Roger Clemens. Retrieved from http://www.nationaljournal.com/former-house-member-drop-probe-of-roger-clemens-20110818
