Policy

Feds Snap the Perjury Trap Shut on Roger Clemens

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From The New York Times:

Federal authorities have decided to indict Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, according to two people briefed on the matter.

This marks the second time the federal government has charged a famously unlikable Hall of Fame-caliber baseball player not with any underlying crime associated with taking or distributing drug treatments without a legal prescription, but for the Blagojevichian crime of lying under oath to people more powerful than they. Quite openly, and at great taxpayer expense, the government is trying to make examples out of showhorse athletes, preferably of the assholish variety.

Some related Reason reading:
* "Putting Stars Behind Bars," William L. Anderson and Candice E. Jackson, April 2009
* "Taking the Fifth," Matt Welch, March 2005
* "George Bush vs. Barry Bonds," Matt Welch, December 2004
* "Why Martha Stewart Should Go to Heaven and the SEC Should Go to Hell," Michael McMenamin, October 2003