Roger Clemens found not guilty on all counts of perjury

[xian4]

According to New York Times

[weams]

according to New York Times

Anyone surprised?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/roger-clemens-trial-verdict-reached/2012/06/18/gJQAQxvzlV_story.html

[Can_of_corn]

Perjury is really hard to prove.

...and what is the total bill?

[xian4]

The prosecution ?

[Tony-OH]

Anyone surprised?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/roger-clemens-trial-verdict-reached/2012/06/18/gJQAQxvzlV_story.html

No, and total waste of money. I'm convinced Clemons lied and that he took steroids, but at the same time, I don't think you can convict him in a court of law on either count. Nice to see the government making us all safe by spending millions of dollars trying to prove a baseball player lied about taking steroids. Give me a break.

[Can_of_corn]

Passan is estimating 2-3 million spent by the Government. I wonder if that includes the first trial where they set a new standard for blowing it?

[CA-ORIOLE]

Basically the government prosecutes these high profile cases to set an example for others. That said, I'm not sure the Clemens case was really high profile, and if it was, it was because the government escalated it to that level on its own. There were probably better fish to fry.

[xian4]

How much did they also spend on the aborted Lance Armstrong case ?

[Frobby]

The government needs to get out of the steroids prosecution business. Too hard to prove and too unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I have no issue with the government prosecuting those that illegally distribute of steroids. When it gets down to the prosecution of individual players (primarily it seems for perjury), that's another matter.

[tennOsfan]

There are plenty dirtbag criminals worthy of federal prosecution that don't get it, so yes, this was a total waste of time on the part of the U.S. government. Sure, perhaps he lied to Congress, but it was over a subject that shouldn't have concerned Congress - it was a silly dog and pony show from the get go.

[O's84]

No, and total waste of money. I'm convinced Clemons lied and that he took steroids, but at the same time, I don't think you can convict him in a court of law on either count. Nice to see the government making us all safe by spending millions of dollars trying to prove a baseball player lied about taking steroids. Give me a break.

Pretty much nails it for me.

[Migrant Redbird]

I have no issue with the government prosecuting people for perjury. If perjury is ignored, the integrity of the entire court system collapses.

I did have a problem with them prosecuting Martha Stewart for lying to an investigator. Investigators lie to suspects all the time. Her real mistake was signing a sworn statement without consulting an attorney.

Lying to Congress? They're the biggest bunch of liars in the land. Still, it was sworn testimony, and needs to be subject to criminal prosecution too.

Of course Clemens used steroids and of course he lied about it. However, when his friends rolled over on their previous statements and began weasel-wording on the stands, it greatly eroded the government's case. Then there was the question of whether Clemens really attended Canseco's party or not.

I think McNamee's testimony, coupled with Clemens' track record, bringing his personal trainer along from the Blue Jays, and the syringes which tested positive both for Clemens' DNA and for steroids should have been sufficient for a competent jury, but I wasn't sitting in the courtroom every day and it could have played out a lot differently for the jurors. I also don't know what their instructions from the judge were.

[Can_of_corn]

I have no issue with the government prosecuting people for perjury. If perjury is ignored, the integrity of the entire court system collapses.

I did have a problem with them prosecuting Martha Stewart for lying to an investigator. Investigators lie to suspects all the time. Her real mistake was signing a sworn statement without consulting an attorney.

Lying to Congress? They're the biggest bunch of liars in the land. Still, it was sworn testimony, and needs to be subject to criminal prosecution too.

Of course Clemens used steroids and of course he lied about it. However, when his friends rolled over on their previous statements and began weasel-wording on the stands, it greatly eroded the government's case. Then there was the question of whether Clemens really attended Canseco's party or not.

I think McNamee's testimony, coupled with Clemens' track record, bringing his personal trainer along from the Blue Jays, and the syringes which tested positive both for Clemens' DNA and for steroids should have been sufficient for a competent jury, but I wasn't sitting in the courtroom every day and it could have played out a lot differently for the jurors. I also don't know what their instructions from the judge were.

I don't either, if they have a realistic chance of winning. They had no chance to make charges stick in cases like these. It is all about someone in the Government being upset at a personal level and pushing for prosecution to punish the defendants by forcing them to suffer through the indignity, monetary impact, and general hassle of a trial.

[Moose Milligan]

Sad to see that liar get acquitted.