Roger Clemens--Case Closed

And so the DOJ wastes another tranche of taxpayer money pursuing a case that no one really cared about--the "perjury" of Roger Clemens before Congress.

My firm opinion is that whether Clemens used performance enhancing drugs is a matter for Major League Baseball, not for Congress or the Justice Department. I believe he was under no legal obligation to even appear in the Congressional freak show that involved dragging major league players in and trying to get them to confess in the face of incompetent cross examination.

But someone at the hearing apparently got upset at Clemens and no doubt a phone call was made to light up the right Justice official, and the wheels of government turned to move Clemens into the crosshairs. The whole affair was ridiculous, and the DC jury knew it. From the failure to properly review Andy Pettitte's previous congressional deposition testimony, in which he admitted he was not clear on precisely what Clemens said with respect to drug use, to the devastating testimony of the soon-to-be ex-wife of the star witness, Brian McNamee, the government's case was poorly thought out and executed from the start. That alone is enough to indicate that the prosecution was being pursued for political rather than juridical reasons (in my experience, the DOJ attorneys at this level are highly competent).

And while I'm at it, I don't think Lance Armstrong should face anything other than the wrath of the cycling community if what is alleged about his drug use turns out to be credible. The international sports community has more than enough lawyers, regulations and judicial resources to deal with him.

Law enforcement has bigger fish to fry.