Now I have to think that he did it more than just those two times. Andy :: Sad ::

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/live-analysis-of-hearings/

It is his denials that have created this and put AP in the spot he is in. That isn’t friendship in any sense of the word. When AP was named in the report, he did the right thing and stated his involvement. The right thing to do, whether the report was done in fairness or not, is admit what you have done and move on. That is what AP tried to do and then he was drug into this circus.

Some of you are old enough to remember the “Quiz Show Scandals,” when there were congressional hearings into rigged (actually, scripted) quiz shows. Scores of witnesses said (under oath) that they were not given the answers. As it turned out, they were all too embarrassed to admit the truth (even under oath).

Utimately, they were found to be liying. Now here’s the funny part. No one was charged with rigging the shows, because there was no law against it (they were treated like sitcoms, which are also scripted). BUT, the witnesses were charged with lying to Congress.

These witnesses were given a slap on the wrist, with misdemeanor penalties. But the lesson is clear ….. DON’T LIE TO THE FEDS. That has always been the case.

I’ve spent a little time in this blog stating that Boston fans didn’t need McNamee to thoroughly discredit Clemens’ late-career surge. We saw him get fat and mediocre, and resurface bulky, sculpted and dominant. If he had just shut his big mouth, he could have made a clean getaway (and his wife, too).

But he just had to piss off Congress. “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Doesn’t the Government have to prove ultimately that the substances they are talking about were in fact “controlled substances” as defined in the law prohibiting their possession, or as defined in MLB’s prohibited use list? You would need a chemical analysis of the substances in question in order to prove that which Rocket allegedly possessed was in fact a substance which Roger was prohibited from possessing. But there’s no substance to analyze.

IMO, that’s also a real problem for any eventual perjury prosecution regarding whether or not Roger lied about using PEDs. (Assuming that the medical waste produced by McNamee tests positive for steroid or HGH, my guess it that it won’t pass a chain of custody attack, certainly not to the satisfaction of a unanimous jury). McNamee’s statements that he knew it was HGH or Steroids are meaningless. Is he a licensed chemical analyst and did he use a recognized method of testing the substance? No, he didn’t. What about the fact that he allegedly got the chemicals from Radomski? Same problem, prove that what Radomski had was HGH or Steroids and prove that those very same vials contained the stuff that was injected into Roger.

In the real world, the Government has the burden of proof. IMO they would have to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Roger knowingly used PEDs, then prove he lied about it. Roger doesn’t have to say or prove or disprove anything. Thus if the Government cannot prove that Roger used PEDs, they cannot prove perjury. I also do not think it’s legally sufficient to allege that Roger lied to Congress or anyone else based merely on what Roger said in a conversation between only Roger and Andy, especially if Roger says Andy was mistaken. The criminal standard is “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

I’m thinking that cooler heads in Congress and at DOJ will probably prevail and Congressmen like the Boston Red Sox own Lynch from Massachusetts will avoid further reckless statements or face problems of his own.

Maybe you don’t understand what it means to be under oath in a deposition. If you are being deposed and you are being asked about a conversation you had with someone else, unless that conversation is privileged in a legal sense (like with your lawyer or doctor) you have to tell them. If Pettitte did what you say he should do, he would be cited for contempt (of Congress) and might go to jail himself. This is not the time to be heroic and there is no honor in sitting in jail for withholding evidence from Congress.