So Congress has postponed their hearing into drug use in MLB until February 13th. Among those "invited" to appear are Brian McNamee, Kirk Radomski, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch and Roger Clemens. I'm guessing they will all appear, voluntarily or not. None of them will be offered immunity for their testimony, which is expected, of course, to be truthful.
This cannot be good for Clemens.
You've probably noticed that the guys who have admitted to using PEDs seem to be getting a pass (Giambi, Pettitte, et al), while the guys who are lying about it are getting hammered. Which is OK by me. To this point, these judgements have been made in the court of public opinion, not a court of law. Due process and "innocent until proven guilty" don't apply, especially if you act guilty.
Assuming McNamee sticks to his story and Clemens to his, at least one of them will be lying. Will we see a second liar emerge?
Imagine this scenario:
Congressman: "Mr. Pettitte, did you ever see Roger Clemens use PEDs? Were you otherwise aware of his use of PEDs?"
Three possible responses:
1) If he truly didn't see or know of Clemens' drug use, he can say no and be off the hook.
2) If Pettitte was aware of Clemens' PED use, does he lie about it and say no, or does he give up his friend to keep his own hide safe from possible prosecution for perjury?
3) Or does he take the 5th - no answer? That effectively condemns Clemens, just not in so many words, and again saves Pettitte's skin, if not his reputation. Anything close to Mark McGwire's pathetic performance in the previous hearing will likewise brand Pettitte.
As long as there is no "smoking gun" out there, a la BALCO records or the like, Clemens may still escape. I'm betting that Clemens, Pettitte and their advisors have a conversation or two about all of this prior to February 13th.
But there is still McNamee's testimony to deal with. If it doesn't change, how does Congress handle this obvious discrepancy on live TV? Will someone be charged with perjury later on? Their last foray into MLB and drugs was widely considered to be a joke. Rafael Palmeiro obviously lied to them, and nothing came of it. The delay until February 13th tells me it may be different this time. Congress doesn't want to come across as a bunch of sycophants and poseurs as they previously did. After all, they have an election year image to maintain, and the public wants them to be tough on drugs, right?
So I expect (hope for?) tougher questioning. "No habla Ingles" won't cut it this time around.
Clemens needs to fire his current team of advisors and hire one with damage control expertise. We may not even be having this hearing but for his arrogance and obstinacy. If he would have offered even a weak defense, like Pettitte, much of this would have passed from the public's eye by now.
But Clemens' pride upped the ante, and I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that he could go to jail, like Barry Bonds might be doing.
Not for using PEDs, but for lying about it.
