By David Frank
The Daily Record Newswire
Roger Clemens may not belong in the Hall of Fame, but his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, sure does.
I have to admit that I didn't see the across-the-board perjury and obstruction of justice not guilty verdicts coming, but as they say in baseball, that's why they play the games.
On paper, it seemed like the government had enough to secure a conviction on charges that Clemens lied on Feb. 13, 2008 when he told Congress that he never, ever used performance-enhancing drugs. After all, prosecutors had the testimony of Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, who told jurors under a grant of immunity that his ex-boss was a juicer.
Yes, McNamee had some baggage, but so do most cooperating witnesses who take the stand in federal court.
On top of that, scientific evidence and the account of Clemens' longtime friend and fellow Yankee pitcher, Andy Pettitte, seemed to corroborate key parts of McNamee's testimony. The government also had statistics on their side, as more than 90 percent of the criminal defendants who roll the dice at trial in federal court walk away unhappy.
It was pretty clear that Clemens' only chance of beating the case was to attack, and attack hard, the truthfulness of McNamee. The verdict suggests that Clemens' legal team did just that. It also shows that anyone who says they know what a jury is going to do has no idea what a jury is going to do.
I talked to Earl Ward, one of McNamee's lawyers, after the verdict. He tells me that while he is disappointed with the outcome, it in no way clears Clemens' name.
"This is not an exoneration," Ward said. "Not guilty doesn't mean innocence."
The New York attorney adds that Clemens' legal woes are hardly behind him. McNamee's defamation suit in New York state court has yet to be tried. Ward said that discovery had been put on hold as the criminal case was pending.
While Clemens had a Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in the criminal matter, he could be compelled to take the stand in the civil case.
"The McNamee-Clemens controversy is far from over," Ward said. "Clemens is going to have to testify under oath in a Brooklyn courtroom, which he did not do in Washington."
Ward also says that he will not have to prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt and will be held to a lesser standard of proof.
It's a good thing for Clemens that he didn't have Rep. Elijah Cummings on his jury.
At the end of Clemens' congressional testimony in 2008, he said that McNamee's sworn statements about Clemens was "borne out to be true. And for some reason, ... when it comes to [Clemens], it's a whole other thing. It's hard to believe you, sir. I hate to say that as you're one of my heroes."
Remind me again why cameras aren't allowed inside a federal courthouse? They've been kosher on the state side for decades and the system seems to be working just fine.
Published: Wed, Jun 20, 2012
