Where’s A Lawyer When You Need One ? Well , A Competent One At Least !
By tophatal ………… 06/18/2012
So after two needless trials , prosecuted by the US Justice Department , t; the taxpayer is left holding the bag for the millions of dollars wasted as the government’s case against seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens came crashing down around the attorneys’ ears . Needless to say , with Clemens being found not guilty his being acquitted on all thirteen counts that the federal government indicted the defendant on , it now leaves the public questioning the veracity of the cases that the attorneys seek to prosecute . Especially , where it concerns an athlete , specifically those within the world of baseball. We should remember that another of Clemens’ peers , the now disgraced Barry Bonds having been found guilty on the lesser of eight charges in his original eight-count indictment still awaits sentencing after his guilty verdict . Both Clemens , and Bonds were indicted primarily upon the premise of their testimony to law enforcement officers and the fact both were mentioned in the now “infamous” Mitchell Report ” .
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Slide show for your perusal .
Clemens may now feel vindicated by this verdict and the very fact his legal counsel led by Rusty Hardin and Michael Attanasio were very tenacious in the representation of their client . They were able to poke gaping holes in the prosecution’s case and the very fact that the reliability of the testimony of Andy Pettite , former teammate of Clemens came into question . Pettite would claim that he may well have misunderstood a conversation that he had with his former Yankees’ teammate , in which Clemens stated he may or may not have used a banned substance . Either , their conversation gravitated towards the use of steroids or it did not . There are no in-between in terms of the discussion of using steroids . Yet , here we had have Pettite stating in essence , he may well have overstated his original conversation with Roger Clemens . Now , add in the circumstantial evidence and testimony of Clemens’ former strength trainer Brian McNamee and you had a case now sliding into an abyss in terms of its veracity . McNamee ‘s integrity repeatedly came into question , having been subpoenaed and testifying under oath to two congressional committees . The House Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee his sworn testimony was simply one filled falsehoods and half-truths . Brian McNamee lied to the congressional committee members as well as to investigators from the FBI , so I can only surmise that in lieu of the testimony the Justice Department , the witness had an agreement with the prosecuting attorneys that he would not be prosecuted by way self-incrimination.
Courtesy of Associated Press (AP) & Yahoo Sports
Clemens acquittal latest blow for sports cases
By Frederic J. Fromer , Joseph White and Pete Yost Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) Barry Bonds. Guilty on a technicality. At least that’s how much of the public sees it. It’s all that came out of a seven-year investigation into baseball’s home run king.
Lance Armstrong. Not even prosecuted. A two-year, multi-continent investigation brought to a close this year with no charges filed.
Now Roger Clemens. Acquitted on all counts. A five-year investigation ended with the top pitcher of his generation celebrating with family hugs inside the courtroom.
After three expensive failures, the government is done, it seems, with the business of pursuing high-profile cases of drugs-in-sports – with a track record not worth bragging about.
”It was a tremendous waste of federal resources,” said Stanley Brand, a long-time Washington defense attorney who was counsel to the House of Representatives from 1976 to 1983. ”The juries that acquitted these people weren’t persuaded by any of this. That’s the man on the street.”
With the government striking out yet again, the policing of drugs in sports now falls to other entities. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency filed formal accusations last week against Armstrong that could strip the cyclist of his seven Tour de France victories. Armstrong denies any doping.
Clemens, 49, was acquitted Monday on all six counts that he lied to Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs. The government had been pursuing him since 2007, when he was first mentioned in the Mitchell Report on drug use in baseball, and he famously and vehemently disavowed any link to steroids and human growth hormone at a nationally televised hearing in 2008.
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As for the forensic technicians and pathologists, who would be providing succinct detailed information in order to assist the jury in their deliberations but specifically those working in conjunction with the prosecution . It may well have been the details provided were simply too flawed . Certainly, McNamee’s own testimony, as he gathered blooded syringes and gauzes that contained Clemens’ DNA . These specimens were stored in a used soda can, then placed in a refrigerator, and turned over to the federal prosecutors. . Now unless I am mistaken either the US District Attorneys presenting the government’s case are novices or they obtained law degrees from an offshore non-accredited educational establishment . How in God’s name , could the attorneys have felt that they present the premise of tainted blooded specimens , would be a veritable way of stating the state’s case was simply beyond me . This prosecution was a cluster-fuck from start to finish , and anyone who thinks otherwise has to be a complete frigging simpleton ! Rusty Harden stymied the prosecution’s attempt with regard to Brian McNamee’s testimony by calling McNamee’s ex-wife , retired schoolteacher Eileen McNamee , whose testimony painted her ex -husband as an individual who simply cannot be trusted to tell the truth under any circumstance . And McNamee under cross-examination , first by Rusty Hardin and then by Harden’s associate Mark Attanasio showed the prosecution’s chief witness to be fallible and unable to recollect certain actions that followed a chronological timeline that matched the chain of events he first gave under sworn testimony . If that was not a harbinger of things to come and why the Justice Department’s case went up in flames for a second time . Then, it shows how complacent the attorneys were , and how they grossly mishandled the judicious prosecution of this less than compelling case. Is there a ham sandwich that these assholes could possibly indict ?
How the MLB hierarchy now views this as well as the writers of the BBWAA , who are the arbiters for the Baseball Hall of Fame and who have the final say on the player’s eligibility and enshrinement . It now has me now asking , is there a possibility Clemens gets his wish after-all in being enshrined in the Hall of Fame ? . Vindication or not , Roger Clemens to my mind faces an uphill battle as he seeks his enshrinement in the game’s most hallowed edifice . None of his philanthropic efforts and social deeds will change the public’s perception of Clemens. This whole episode has left a vast blemish on the game of baseball and certainly Bud Selig for all of his idiocy as the commissioner has stayed as far away from this drama as one would avoid a piece of fecal matter on the ground . The commissioner to my mind still remains the worst of all of the individuals to have held the game’s highest executive position ! There are those who still support Selig fully after his two decades in office as the commissioner of baseball . He still remains the consummate buffoon , and to comprehend that , one simply has look at his actions in the aftermath of the overturning of Ryan Braun’s 50 game suspension by an arbitrator (Shyam Das) . The player was said to have violated the league’s substance abuse policy but when details came to the fore , that the testing facility that handled Braun’s specimen did not follow the proper and stringent protocols as laid out by baseball’s hierarchy. We had Bud Selig and a subordinate Rob Manfred claiming that Shyam Das failed to follow the rule of law in rendering a verdict .
Unless I am mistaken , but Selig’s knowledge of the law , ranks somewhere alongside his business acumen and the fact that his dumb ass was oblivious to nefarious and egregious actions of Frank McCourt as the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers . Somehow , fans are all too quick to forget that in 2011 for two consecutive months , it happened to be the MLB hierarchy , with the owners’ approval , who had to “ foot the bill” and pay the salaries of the players as well as meet other discretionary monetary expenditures for the once beleaguered franchise . So much of this has been overlooked , with Dodgers having been sold to a consortium led by Magic Johnson , Stan Kasten , Peter Guber , Mark Walter and Todd S Boehly of asset management firm Guggenheim Partners LLC . That extortionate price of $2.15 billion may not be viewed as too steep a price to pay but the value of the teams within baseball having risen exponentially , faster than the rate of inflation . One can well understand why there might now be several team owners around the game who are licking their lips with a great deal of avarice . John Moores , as the senior managing partner of the San Diego Padres would like nothing better than to sell his majority stake in the franchise for a sizable profit .
With USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency) now seeking to indict seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong , it now appears that Eric Holder’s office will now get one more bite of the apple in seeking to indict another renowned athlete . And that is dependent upon whether or not the USADA seeks to work in conjunction with the US Justice Department in the prosecution of this impending case . From my own perspective I find cycling to be one monotonous bore with its governing body UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) simply chasing their own tail for over a decade as they try to clean up their sport . Never mind the fact that the Summer’s two most important events as it relates to the sport are but a few months away with the 2012 Tour de France and Summer Olympics in London with the time trials and the prestigious road races for both the men and women at the Olympic Games . The stain of shame has yet to hit the women’s events . With former contestants in cycling’s most famous race , Alberto Contador , Floyd Landis and now Armstrong having to defend their honor . Well , let us just say , whether or not Lance Armstrong chooses to defend himself against the allegations now being leveled against him . It will be interesting to see the stance that will be taken by the seven-time champion. Armstrong has always fervently denied any wrongdoing on his part , and has always pointed to the fact that has never tested positive for any banned substance while in competition over the course of his professional career. In light of this there has been growing suspicion of the cyclist as well as his former team manager Johan Bruyneel , as well as a number of his former teammates . Landis , a former Armstrong teammate , himself, a former winner of the Tour de France , was stripped of the title after it was discovered that he used EPO (erythropoietin) and a number of illicit substances on his way to that “ now infamous “ and tarnished victory . Floyd Landis has maintained that Armstrong was part of a cabal of cyclists under the tutelage of Bruyneel that used steroids and other illicit substances to boost their endurance levels . In addition , to backing up Landis’ claims were those Tyler Hamilton , who in a sworn affidavit detailed his use of EPO and the fact that he and Armstrong shared a strict regimen in the use of steroids as well as the aforementioned blood thinner .
Hamilton has never been the subject of a defamation , slander or libel lawsuit brought about by Lance Armstrong , so it begs the question who should we believe in this instance ? If the multiple Tour de France winner is adamant as to his innocence , it seems somewhat disingenuous on his part that he has not sought to issue a lawsuit against his former teammate . I can only surmise that Armstong’s legal team may well have something to hide while they seek some avenue of tacit defense . As to the jurisprudence , and the very fact that millions of dollars have been wasted on two cases that has shown the US Justice Department to be filled with buffoons ! Eric Holder , the US Attorney General has shown himself to be as incompetent as several members of this President’s …. administration . Somehow , it is beyond the scope of Holder’s office to go after white-collar criminals on Wall St , who almost brought the nation to its’ knees during the financial crisis , and meltdown that has cost the taxpayers countless billions but yet his office has chased after the likes of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens , with little tangible to show for it at all in the end . Barry Bonds who still awaits sentencing , is unlikely to be given a jail sentence but he may well be penalized with a possible sentence of “ house arrest “ along with multiple hours of community service . Is this really how inadequate and idiotic the US Justice System has become , with their being complete incompetency , being shown by attorneys representing the US government and as such the nation ? In doing so , they have made themselves look like complete assholes !
Not one senior financial executive has been indicted in the last four years , for the egregious wrongdoing that has taken place at Goldman Sachs , Citigroup Inc , JP Morgan Chase , AIG , Morgan Stanley Inc , Bank of America Inc and the now defunct Merrill Lynch . Care to take a guess when and if , Eric Holder’s office will ever set their sights on the high-rollers of Wall Street ? Here’s a clue that is not about to happen in the lead up to a prominent election cycle where both Presidential candidates ( Barack Obama & Mitt Romney ) will try to portray themselves as the guardians of the consumers’ interests , while surreptitiously taking the “ tens of millions dollars” that will be donated to their respective campaigns in the upcoming elections . Freedom of speech , my ass ! Money corrupts , and the ingrates on both sides of the political aisle will do whatever it takes to curry favor with demagogues of Wall Street .
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Picture gallery for your perusal .
What thoughts if any do you have concerning the salient points raised within this article ? By all means , do leave a comment as you see fit , and thanks as always for the continued support as it is greatly appreciated !
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Picture and slide show details below for your perusal .
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(1) Former all-star baseball pitcher Roger Clemens (C) and his legal team, including attorneys Rusty Hardin (2nd R) and Michael Attanasio (L), leave the Prettyman U.S. Court House after Clemens was found not guilty on 13 counts of perjury and obstruction June 18, 2012 in Washington, DC. The former Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees pitcher’s original trial in 2011 was declared a mistrial after the judge said the prosecution presented inadmissible testimony that prejudiced the jury. A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens was on trial for making false statements, perjury and obstructing Congress when he testified about steroid use during a February 2008 inquiry by the House Oversight and Government Affairs . Chip Smodevilla / Getty Images …
(2) Former all-star baseball pitcher Roger Clemens (C) and his legal team, including attorneys Rusty Hardin (R) and Michael Attanasio (L), leave the Prettyman U.S. Court House after Clemens was found not guilty on 13 counts of perjury and obstruction June 18, 2012 in Washington, DC. The former Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees pitcher’s original trial in 2011 was declared a mistrial after the judge said the prosecution presented inadmissible testimony that prejudiced the jury. A seven-time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens was on trial for making false statements, perjury and obstructing Congress when he testified about steroid use during a February 2008 inquiry by the House Oversight and Government Affairs. Getty Images North America / Chip Smodevilla …
(3) Brian McNamee (L), former major league baseball pitcher Roger Clemens’ former strength coach, leaves after testifying in the perjury and obstruction trial of Clemens on May 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. McNamee says he injected the pitcher multiple times with steroids and HGH . Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images ….
(4) US Federal Court Judge Reggie Walton who presided over the Roger Clemens’ perjury trial often chided the prosecution throughout much of the trial , with regard to evidentiary presentations and also with regard to prosecutorial misconduct . AP Photo / Garth Hayes ….
(5) Lance Armstrong (left) the seven-time Tour de France champion (1998-04) is seen here with his then team manager Johan Bruyneel of the US Postal Cycling team . Bruyneel , himself a former competitive cyclist has always declared and maintained his innocence , in terms of any illicit wrongdoing concerning the teams he has managed and specifically his professional association with Lance Armstrong. Reuters/ AFP/ Gesellschaft Gmbh/ TAG: . ….
(6) From left to right , Tyler Hamilton , Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis . All three riders have come under the web of suspicion by UCI , the governing body of international cycling . But only the now disgraced Landis has been caught “cheating ” . The racer was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title . @ all rights reserved copyrighted material . Luis Barbosa ….
(7) U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (L) addresses an event to launch the U.S. International Strategy for Cyberspace with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (R) and Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building May 16, 2011 in Washington, DC. Foreign ambassadors, technology industry leaders, foreign policy experts, human rights and civil liberties advocates, and leadership from throughout the U.S. Government participated in the event. It has been at Holder’s authority in conjunction with the various heads within his agency who make the decisions to press ahead with a number of trials involving Barry Bonds , Roger Clemens , Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery in recent years. Of the quartet mentioned , only Jones and Montgomery have to date served any time in a federal penitentiary for their crimes . Getty Images North America / Chip Smodevilla ….
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