The American Spectator : Inside the Clemens Courtroom

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Inside the Clemens Courtroom

By Patrick Howley on 7.12.11 @ 6:08AM

For twenty-five years, Debbie Clemens watched her husband from the grandstands. Now, it's her turn.

Debbie Clemens looks tense. She’s out of her element in Courtroom 16, watching her husband stand trial in U.S. District Court on federal perjury charges. Though she knows, like all baseball wives, how hard it is to simply watch someone you love engaged in something important, she’s now facing a new kind of burden. She has to sit poised in the gallery, stoic against the investigative glare of journalists, and also seem approachable and friendly to the crowd (she even embraces a family of six who come to court late with cameras and tourist maps asking "where’s the best seat to see Roger?") When prosecutor Steve Durham stands to speak, Debbie glares at him with maternal rage.

Durham is gearing up to fight. He doesn’t plan to introduce the audio file of Roger Clemens' 2008 testimony before Congress. Instead, he wants to show the jury a transcript of that testimony, a black-and-white, bottom-line document proving that Clemens lied under oath about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens' lawyer Rusty Hardin is incensed. He expected the audio file to be introduced, and he relied on it. If the jury can’t hear the defendant's voice -- the inflections and the emphases -- when he made his statements, then how can they be expected to potentially "throw that man into the federal penitentiary?"

Debbie grimaces.

Judge Reggie Walton considers this argument. "The audio file might actually hurt you" he tells Hardin, who replies that he’s willing to take that chance. "But I am sympathetic to your cause." Walton’s reported sympathies toward Clemens drew some controversy back in February, leading to media suggestions that he might actually be removed from the case. He also doesn’t seem to know much about the topics at hand. At one point, he asks, "can’t you get what amounts to human growth hormone at a special food store?" FBI agent John Longmire, who sits at Durham’s prosecution table, offers a bewildered reply: "The answer to that is absolutely not."

Walton doesn’t like wasting time or money. He implores the principals in court to hurry back from breaks so as to not "waste your tax money, or my tax money." He often points out how much it costs to try a case like USA vs. Clemens, and ultimately sets aside the audio-file issue on the grounds that it’s too expensive a problem and that it’s wasting important time. "If you haven’t noticed," he tells the bickering lawyers on both sides, "this is a country going broke."

Even without knowing the numbers -- the untold millions this trial will cost taxpayers -- many Americans sense that there’s something wrong here, that this might all be a witchhunt, an issue better-suited for Cooperstown voters than a federal jury. When the audio-file debate ends and jury-selection begins, and the huddled masses of potential jurors file into the courtroom, Judge Walton again acknowledges the times we live in -- cracking jokes about the Powerball jackpot.

Hardin gets on their side, as well, asking if they can understand his Texas accent. It’s almost hard to believe that Rusty Hardin exists, so true is he to a certain Archetype, with his southern movie-lawyer aphorisms and dazzling yellow ties. We find ourselves, during the jury-selection ordeal, waiting for Durham and Longmire to finish up so we can get back to Rusty. He’s the star of the show, and he brings out a likable side to Clemens.

On Rusty’s right-hand side, there’s Roger -- smiling at old women in the crowd, stooping to pick up litter in the gallery and throwing it away for the female clerk. Here we see in Clemens a fatherless son raised by Texas women. An oft-injured pretty boy pitcher -- that most performative of positions -- with frost-tipped gelled hair and a face full of emotion. Every now and then it seems Clemens is actually enjoying himself in the courtroom.

Not so for Michael Attanasio, the tight-lipped Princeton grad and former prosecutor who serves as Clemens' No. 2 attorney. Rarely allowed to speak thus far in court, Attanasio sits coldly on the sidelines, rifling through manila folders. When Roger looks over at Attanasio, his grin drops and he grows serious, like a kid straightening up in church. Here he recalls the brooding superstar who refused to sign autographs, who pissed off his teammates and battled with tough Red Sox fans in Boston, who threw a broken bat at Mike Piazza in New York.

Therein lies the challenge of this jury selection, and, in effect, in Clemens receiving a fair trial. While a hit TV show lasts five years, a great ballplayer's career lasts twenty. Clemens' pop-cultural impact is cross-generational. We all have our own perceptions, fair or otherwise, that we’ve applied to him. We have memories stretching from the mid-Eighties to the 2010’s, from the triumphant -- a 20-strikeout game at Fenway Park -- to the sensationalistic -- a 10-year extramarital affair with country singer Mindy McCready.

"A lot of these people are big celebrities!" shouts a potential juror hearing the list of defense witnesses. Her comment draws laughter from Roger Clemens, but concerned silence from Debbie -- aware that this person may soon wield the power to send the father of her children to prison for twenty-one months.

The prosecution wants jurors to think of Roger Clemens as a big celebrity. A big celebrity who went to a glitzy party at fellow celebrity Jose Canseco’s Florida house on June 9, 1998. It was there, trainer Brian McNamee testified, that Clemens spent the night poolside, talking with Canseco about banned substances. It was there that he allegedly became obsessed with anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, where he first joined the wink-wink underground of big celebrities getting away with performance-enhancing crimes. Clemens told Congress that he did not attend the party. Later, he and Hardin told the press that maybe he did attend, after all. Maybe he did talk to Canseco, and maybe the talk turned to steroids.

But maybe the steroids weren’t for him.

Rusty pauses and directs the crowd’s attention to Debbie. "You see the blonde lady right there? That’s Roger’s wife, and she’s going to testifty." He makes her stand, and wave, and say hello to everyone. It’s a telling move. See, Rusty is not just a star, but a starmaker. He understands the value of a big witness.

In a few weeks, Debbie Clemens will testify that she used human growth hormone, at McNamee's insistence, to improve her physique for a Sports Illustrated photo shoot in 2003. She will refute McNamee’s claim that he injected her with Roger's guidance. Having been present with Roger in Florida in June 1998, she may also remove him from the scene of Canseco's party. In portraying herself as a steroid user in the Clemens household -- Roger told Congress outright that he had never used steroids, but toed the line on his contact with or his purchasing of the drugs -- she will cast reasonable doubt all over the prosecution’s case.

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About the Author

Patrick Howley is a staff writer for the Washington Free Beacon.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (26) | Leave a comment

CB| 7.12.11 @ 6:50AM

All Roger had to do back then in his testimony was to stand up and say "Sure I used steroids. Look at those arms on McGwire and Bonds, you think I'm gonna let them have an edge on me? Heck, no!" They would have grumbled a little, but they would concede his point, and it all would have been forgotten and over by now.

JP| 7.12.11 @ 7:23AM

@CB,
Of course telling the truth looks so good in retrospect. I'm sure Clemens wished he used a different tact. But instead of tellng the truth, he probably wished he would have taken the 5th (like McGwire). And by telling the truth, Clemens would be remembered as the Man who sold-out. Not only would his chances at Cooperstown go down, but the only post-career gigs he'd get would be late night TV commericals for Viagra (not that he needs the money. Clemens earned $28 million for playing half a season with the Astros in 2005-06. All home starts).

The game of MLB is ruined. Has been for some time. Steroids are only one of the symptoms. Fans instinctively know this, as viewship even for the World Series cannot outdraw America's Funniest Home Videos. Bud Selig is probably the biggest culprit; but there is plenty of blame to go around.

CB| 7.12.11 @ 7:36AM

You're right, it's easy to do some Monday-morning quarterbacking, but the problem with Clemens is summed up in one word....EGO. As a Houston resident and long-time Astros fan, I have followed Roger for a long time. He would never have said what I suggested, because his ego rules him, always has. But by refusing to state the obvious, he has brought himself even lower, and now is in this ugly mess. No matter what the outcome is, he is screwed in the world of public opinion, the one thing that he tried to avoid.

Anthony| 7.12.11 @ 8:28AM

Never was much of a Clemens fan. When the Yankees traded David Wells for him, I cursed the "Boss" for days.
Roger always was the center of attention, the man would have made a great pol. He has all the moves and instincts of a pol, probably because the source of that instinct is "it's all about me".
Anyway, not to rain on your parade here, but Clemens did not throw a broken bat at Mike Piazza, as you so artfully described it. He threw a broken bat, that flew in his direction, on the ground as Piazza was running up the first base line.
Much was made of this, as the video was shown 10,000 times.
Anyway, Roger, the artful dodger, is in the pickle he's in because he believes his own lies.
Did I not say he'd make a great pol?

Stuart Koehl| 7.12.11 @ 8:31AM

And we are trying this case. . . why?

Dave| 7.12.11 @ 10:18AM

Exactly, Stuart. I'd suggest canceling this trial, save the bucks, and in a few years when the American sports fan has gone pre-alzheimer's -- put The Rocket in the Hall of Fame and make a note on his plaque: "At the time of Clemens' (alleged) steroid use - he was in his front yard, chipping golf balls; waiting for Kato."

OK, the last part probably won't happen. But when the final out is recorded, B. Bonds and a few other juicers will eventually be granted their HOF credentials -- it'll just take a while. After all, Bubba Clinton got away with "doin' the nasty" and look at him today. He's still slithering around, sucking up mainstream love while St. Hillary sits grinding her molars in Obama's state department.

See, it's a whole new day, kids. Not like the real world days when doing bad stuff got you banished from the clubhouse or the Oval Office. I mean, looking back THEN and comparing with NOW ... whoda' thunk? Me? I say toss ol' Roger four wide ones and issue a pass. In the end, no one's going to care, much less remember.

That's my take and I'm stickin' to it.

Len| 7.12.11 @ 8:39AM

There are multiple problems with this whole thing;

1) The congress has no authority to make laws concerning drug use of any kind, but particularly ones that people use for performance enhancement. Frankly no one other than MLB, or the NFL, or whoever has a right to tell people what they can put in their body.

2) The congress has no authority to dictate to any sport league what to do, their only authority is to protect such businesses, not infringe upon the manner in which it is conducted.

3) The congress has no authority to call private citizens before it to testify. Their inquisitorial power extends only to those who work for the federal government. To say otherwise is to imply that people are somehow the property of the government and may be compelled to do as the government says at any time..such is slavery.

Now I know a lot of statist government worshiping folk will cite precedent, but a tradition of wrong does not legitimize such a thing.

Flit Andersen| 7.12.11 @ 6:14PM

1. Problem isn't his use of steriods - it's his lying to Congress. They're the only one's allowed to lie in those august halls.
2. They absolutely do. In fact it's one of the few correct uses of the Interstate Commerce clause.
3. They can summons private citizens at any time and put them under oath, and have done so countless times.

When they do, you'd better not lie. I hope this fathead gets time. He's got it coming to him. It's one thing to "juice" because you're trying to hang on to a job, it's another because you want even more outrageous numbers than you have. That's just being a PIG!

ray bob| 7.12.11 @ 8:47AM

Roger just didn't know when to shut up, Raphael Plamaro said the same type of statements, and then of course failed a test (and blamed the SS i believe), but at that point he went away and closed the ol' pie hole; no cooperstown for him either

Steve A| 7.12.11 @ 9:04AM

for Clemens to be innocent, McNamee & Petite must have a conspiracy to form a lie. What would the possible motive for this be. Baseball players do not improve after 40 yo as did Clemens.

Stuart Koehl| 7.12.11 @ 9:12AM

What does it matter? And please tell me why I should care?

Steve A| 7.12.11 @ 10:12AM

Stuart, You are correct. Complete waste of time & $$. Same thing with Bonds.

ghd australia| 7.12.11 @ 9:51AM

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W| 7.12.11 @ 1:17PM

Rusty should argue that it is ok to lie to congress because congress lies to us.

GENE HAUBER| 7.12.11 @ 2:03PM

IF THE PRESIDENT'S LIPS ARE MOVING HE IS LYING TO US..

DITTO FOR ANY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE OR SENATOR IN CONGRESS OR A STATE LEGISLATURE,,,,,BUT,, LET AN INDIVIDUAL BE SUSPECTED OF LYING TO """"THEM"""", WHOA, A WHOLE NOTHER STORY.

LET ROGER GO AND GET BACK TO LYING TO US.

WHAT HYPOCRITES!!!

CalMark| 7.12.11 @ 2:19PM

Who cares?

Where in the Constitution does it say that Congress can force private citizens (which all non-office holders are, regardless of how famous they may be) to testify--at their own expense and risk--in front of a bunch of corrupt, grandstanding old windbags?

Clemens was and remains a jerk, his act notwithstanding. And his wife is a fool for sticking by him through all these years of humiliation.

Leave it to the court of public opinion. Congress, stay out of our private lives.

George True| 7.12.11 @ 3:48PM

First of all, the federal government has absolutely NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER criminalizing athletes for trying to maximize their performance. Such enforcement is strictly up to the various sports governing bodies. It is NOT a criminal act, and lying about it is accordingly not a criminal act either. The people prosecuting this should be summarily fired, lose all pensions, and be barred from any further government work for life. That might put a justifiable damper on such collossal wastes of taxes as this.

Secondly, it has always been a mistaken assumption that if someone is a top hitter in professional baseball it is because of steroids. The landmark Breen study in the late sixties identified five biomechanical swing characteristics of ALL top baseball hitters. These were a level center of gravity throughout the swing, adjusting head movements from pitch to pitch to maximize ball tracking time, the leading elbow being straightened near the beginning of the swing to maximize angular velocity of the bat, a constant stride length for all pitches, and the torso being pointed in the same direction of the hit at eh end of the swing with a simultaneous shift of the weight to the front foot.

A player's technique flawlessly incorporates all these characteristics, or else he will not be a top hitter, simple as that. While strength and conditioning is important to be a powerful hitter, it is unlikely that steroid use on the part of some hitters is going to make them better or more powerful hitters than the non-users, assuming all of them are relatively well conditioned.

A more modern biomechanical study conducted at the University of Miami last year, citing the Breen study as one of its references, identified eight biomechanical swing characteristics, and over forty underlying characteristics common to all top hitters. Again, while a certain prerequisite amount of strength is important to be a powerful hitter, anything above that is unlikely to make someone a better hitter than someone else who has all the identified biomechanical parts of a swing going for them.

And yes, players do improve with age. That's called mastery of the sport. Due to vast improvements in training, conditioning, nutrition, etc, age fifty is the new forty, and forty is the new thirty.

bbh| 7.12.11 @ 3:58PM

Good grief, look at those jokes in congress. They are all liers and cheats. If the American public were not so stupid they would be marching against this trial and throwing a big fit.

OnceAGreatNation| 7.12.11 @ 4:23PM

Great -- white --American sports icons Roger and Lance under federal government investigation. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the era of Obama. /s

Flit Andersen| 7.12.11 @ 6:21PM

Your anti-Obama sentiments clearly identify you, sir, as a racist!

OnceAGreatNation| 7.12.11 @ 9:18PM

Good grief, what an unsophisticated remark.

ejp| 7.12.11 @ 10:19PM

One does not have to like Clemens to see this trial for the farcical waste of taxpayer money that it is. And I have to admit, to this day, I have still NEVER gotten a straight answer to the question of how one can justify keeping Clemens out of the Hall of Fame while Gaylord Perry, who owed all of his 300 plus wins to a Vaseline ball and chicanery his whole career remains enshrined at Cooperstown.

ejp| 7.12.11 @ 10:19PM

Scrapette Jones| 7.14.11 @ 7:06PM

The trial, the mistrial, none of it really matters as far as Roger Clemmons' future, at least down here in Houston. Here, the standard always has been and always will be, the great great Nolan Ryan, and Roger never has and never will ever meet that standard. Ever. Now, less than ever.