Friday, May 4, 2012

New Sports Illustrated column: Rethinking Congressional investigation into Roger Clemens

I have a new SI.com column that addresses 5 popular myths or at least exaggerations that have emerged since Roger Clemens testified before Congress in February 2008. Here's an excerpt:

Myth 3: The hearing cost millions of tax dollars.

Truth: Contrary to popular belief, Congress did not expend unusually high resources investigating Clemens or, for that matter, HGH, B-12 and other substances. In fact, the costs associated with the two February 2008 hearings were comparable with most 110th Congress hearings, some of which also concerned "nonessential" topics but nonetheless failed to attract the same level of media scrutiny and public scorn.

According to people involved in the February 2008 hearings, no outside staff or attorneys were hired and most of the work entailed receiving and distributing statements from health experts. Clemens and Andy Pettitte were also interviewed, under oath, by staff members and their statements were recorded and transcribed. The staff did not incur any travel expenses in conducting the interviews. Clemens also visited several members of Congress in their offices for short conversations.

To read the rest, click here.