Clemens to Thank Incompetence
Update: July 18, 2011
In an earlier article of ours, we reviewed Roger Clemens and the risk elements that threatened his future as he was being prosecuted for perjury following a Congressional hearing on MLB doping. We followed the brilliant sports reporting of Lester Munson, T.J. Quinn, and Ian O’Connor as they dissected the government’s case as well as counter-strategies of the defense. Their reporting clarified key aspects of the prosecutor’s primary argument along with objectives that they hoped to meet using key witnesses such as Kirk Radomski, Andy Pettitte, and Brian McNamee. We also questioned correlations between presiding Judge Walton and professional sports figures that seemed to collectively influence his actions which resulted in an earlier mistrial.
Today, the dust has settled and a blundering jury has acquitted Roger Clemens of all charges; finding him not guilty on all six counts. This conclusion joins others, including Brewer – Ryan Braun’s escape from penalty (due to a technicality) and Barry Bonds’ wrist slap. In aggregate, there is a growing concern that professional sports figures or media icons are immune from the penalty of law in this subject area. Today’s questions are, (a) under the current system, does the government stand a chance of curbing illegal steroid/HGH use, (b) is a jury trial versus bench trial the right selection given the overwhelming force of star power, and (c) is the public even capable of finding Contempt of Court/Congress as offensive as it would other criminal behavior?
The Breakdown
Aside from hardcore evidence, believability is the most powerful weapon that can be wielded in the American judicial system. At www.steroidanalysis.com, we know this fact as did the defense team for Roger Clemens. Perhaps, prosecutors were dismissive of this fact and too confident that they’d recovered from their earlier legal stumble. Maybe they over-weighed physical evidence and operated without a doubt that it would be found to be indisputable. Certainly, the defense team anticipated a fight and emerged from its corner with aggression and tons of mud to sling.
The first step for the defense was to place doubt on the testimony of Kirk Radomski (covered in an earlier post on this site) who was convicted of supplying several illegal drugs to Major League players in club houses. Beginning with his Grand Jury testimony, Radomski testified that he supplied Brian McNamee with human growth hormone (also illegal for casual use…) with intended use by a mysterious “starting pitcher”. In this year’s court action, Radomski elaborated by stating that he’d shipped the drugs to Roger Clemens house and that the named recipient was Brian McNamee (though still with Clemens’ correct address…). Whereas, Clemens was the truly intended recipient, he agreed that he could not be certain of the individual who ultimately took possession/consumed the contents of the shipment. Note: even the sting of penalty for Radomski’s part in the MLB steroid scandal was much diminished and he currently markets supplements including testosterone boosters. We at www.steroidanalysis.com find that a majority of testosterone boosters defy government regulation and secretly contain steroids.
Secondly, Andy Pettitte’s testimony became unproductive for the prosecution which caused doubt for the jury during cross examination. On May 2nd, 2012, Andy Pettitte’s testimony seemed to dramatically shift from his earlier statements made during the Capitol Hill testimony. Recall that on May 1st, Pettitte emphatically said under oath that he’d overheard Clemens admitting to receiving and subsequently using HGH (human growth hormone). However, on the next day, Pettitte responded to a defense attorney – conceding to a 50-50 probability that the information that was overheard may’ve been either misunderstood or ‘misremembered’.
Thirdly, Brian McNamee’s own actions were troublesome for prosecutors. The jury seemed to have found it awkward that a friend to Roger Clemens would (a) be knowledgeable enough to procure steroids and HGH for the use of himself and/or others, (b) administer the illegal drugs to Roger Clemens, and (c) retain evidence in an aluminum beverage can where Clemens’ DNA and steroid/HGH residue were found. Perhaps, jury members regarded McNamee’s actions to be tactical, calculating, contrary to the code of friendship, and oozing with conspiracy.
Finally, the main reason why the Government versus Clemens ‘Contempt of Congress’ case deteriorated was because of jury perception and behavior relative to star-power; in this case, associated with Roger Clemens. Unless there was a major criminal case involving obvious offense(s), the general public is far more willing to forgive famous and wealthy icons rather than social peers of closer socio-economic proximity. Generally, the jury pool was supposed to be an objective segment of the general population relatively free of biases that may predispose outcome of the judicial process. Unfortunately, both the segment and population conceal their predispositions and pass through the pre-trial purging process. Obviously, a sufficient portion of jurors were admirers of Clemens’ exceptional accomplishments and were able to overlook the obvious in order to protect an image that took years to develop. It was simply too much for any government prosecutor to have altered psychology of these jurors in many respects.
All of these distractions overwhelmed truth and common sense and helped to transform witnesses with checkered pasts into caricatures. Regardless of the McNamee ‘creepiness factor’ the contents of his infamous aluminum beer can DID contain Clemens’ DNA and also contained chemical HGH residue.
Kirk Radomski’s testimony seemed to simply fade without much effort from defense attorneys. In the past, Radomski confessed that he’d served as the supplier of steroids and HGH to over 200 Major League Baseball players while working in club houses and other sports training facilities. Radomski’s verbal statements were reinforced by financial and shipping documents seized by federal agents. The documents included purchase orders, client lists, corresponding addresses, along with precise types of steroids/HGH being ordered. Told in an upcoming book entitled Bases Loaded authored by Kirk Radomski, the client list includes Roger Clemens and Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte, and others.
Wait a Minute Here!
If the assertions of Radomski, federal agents, and countless documents were found to be reliable, an average yet logical person should’ve also been able to find credibility in McNamee by virtue of his close association to the same aforementioned figures. However, the jury seemed unable to perform this simple function but rather follow the direction of defense attorneys who were aiming at the personal integrity of Brian McNamee “aka – prosecution’s star witness”. Why?
The answer may not be so readily available but may have something to do with information that was declared inadmissible by the Judge Walton. If the jury were privy to witness backgrounds, maybe they would’ve been able to make the proper connection; more apt to find things circumstantial rather than relying upon well-defined evidence. For instance, Radomski didn’t have a sports background and only began his baseball life after working as a NY Mets clubhouse attendant and bat boy; thanks to Charlie Samuel – NY Mets Equipment Manager who lived in the same neighborhood as 15-year old Kirk Radomski in 1985. Radomski’s book touches upon certain aspects of his colored past involving duties ranging from the discrete disposal of corked bats, to concealment of spouses and mistresses who’s paths would oftentimes cross, supply of… and the administering of steroids in clubhouses or hotel rooms.
The jury was even oblivious to the peculiar moments of Mrs. Roger Clemens. Common sense suggests that, after any individual consumes a controlled substance for a less-than-legitimate reason, the honor of that person falls into jeopardy. Well, this didn’t occur with the wife of Roger Clemens and, instead, her testimony further smeared McNamee while confounding prosecutors who weren’t able to make gains out of her damaging confession. Specifically, Mrs. Clemens did herself no favors by admitting to receiving human growth hormone shots from Brian McNamee in their home.
In total, this news grabbing judicial circus was an enormous waste of time, talent, and government funds. From Judge Walton’s life-long passion to be ‘somehow’ connected with the professional sports world — to a jury pool that would not pull the trigger on a famous sports figure unless it held a smoking gun — to a prosecutorial team and star witnesses that were truly ill prepared for the rigors of a robust private sector legal defense…, these variables bonded to save the hide of Roger Clemens. Perhaps, the only lesson learned from all of this is to abandon future efforts such as the Lance Armstrong quest unless there exists over-the-top dumbed-down evidence for today’s jurors to understand. visit www.espn.go.com
Images courtesy of:
AP
ESPN.com
Getty Images
