Clueless Edolphus Towns Abandons Clemens
Days before he was to appear in front of Congress to discuss his alleged steroid use Roger Clemens made the rounds on Capital Hill visiting any Congressman that would meet him. Buster Olney thought this was a great idea:
You might not know it from the scowl he wears on the mound, but Clemens is very a sociable guy and a marvelous story teller. He has a way of putting people at ease. And now he’s going door-to-door and looking the committee members straight in the eye in a case that may well be a matter of he-said, he-said, and telling them that he’s innocent.
Of course, this was before Clemens’ meltdown a few days later. But even before the hearing few journalists shared Olney’s view:
He’s a crackhead, a celebrity addicted to human lips resting on the crack of his/her rear end.
And, as we know, crackheads do dumb stuff, like spend a week in the nation’s capital whining and dining lying politicians, begging them to believe that the game’s greatest pitcher took B-12 shots in the butt, not steroids.
link
Then, over two days, late last week, Clemens and Hardin stopped by the offices of mem bers of Con gress. And what a coinci dence, the 19 they succeeded in chatting up are all on the committee that this Wednes day is assigned to pull from Clemens his sworn testimony on drug use.
Though at least several of those Congressmen, including Brooklyn’s Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y), seemed swayed by their private time with Clemens - good grief, Towns’ deputy chief of staff posed for a picture with Clemens, his arm around her shoulder - all have created a public contamination of the process.
Are all of those Congressional members, having allowed themselves to be personally lobbied by Clemens, now, five days later, supposed to be seen as uncompromised? Those Congressmen have allowed themselves to be perceived as too lacking in discretionary wisdom - too short on basic foresight - to credibly serve a sub-committee on stubborn grease stains.
link
This, after Clemens played his best card, which is spending two days shamelessly schmoozing the star-struck dupes and celebrity whores on the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Stuff That Makes You Sick to Your Stomach. How any committee member could have allowed that is beyond us, but ethics are apparently a very movable bar where those folks live.
link
You half expected Clemens to be carrying a bag of baseballs signed with his name and the date of his hearing as he, two lawyers and a public relations type, spent Thursday and Friday knocking on the door of any congressman who might be in the room this week when he and McNamee testify with seven Cy Youngs and a spot in the Hall of Fame possibly at stake.
If there seemed something slightly unseemly about going behind closed doors to have a few laughs with people who could be your judge and jury, it was lost on Team Clemens. They understood, after all, that one sure way to make sure the questions coming his way are lobbed softballs is to pose for souvenir pictures with awed politicians, slap a few backs and show them what a good ol’ boy he really is.
link
These are no longer congressional hearings anybody can take seriously. They have turned into nothing more than a show, and occasionally a clown show, before they even start up again, Roger Clemens having been allowed to go door-to-door with his story the way guys used to go door-to-door with vacuum cleaners.
Rusty Hardin, Clemens’ lead guy, probably wishes the legal system worked this way, so all his clients could get to know jurors better before the trial begins.
link
What, no photo ops of Roger Clemens buying a case of Thin Mints from a Washington, D.C., Girl Scout troop? No footage of the big guy singing the National Anthem at a local American Legion hall? How about a charity car wash on Capitol Hill, where The Rocket personally details the rides of every member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform?
There’s still time left before Clemens is scheduled to testify in front of some of his new buddies on the house committee, so anything is possible. Maybe Team Clemens lawyer Rusty Hardin can still arrange for his client to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. TV crews welcome.
link
The price Clemens paid for any advantage gained by his meet and greet was another black mark on his reputation. That Clemens thought this was a good idea isn’t surprising. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed and use to playing by his own rules without repercussions. Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, seems to be as big a blowhard as his client. I wouldn’t be surprised it it wasn’t his idea.
You would think, however, that members of Congress would know better. You’d be wrong. The biggest idiot of all was Rep. Edolphus Towns (NY). After meeting with Clemens Towns seemed convinced of his innocence warning that it was Brian McNamee that was headed towards a perjury charge. This without hearing McNamee’s side; before the hearing had even taken place.
Now, with his pitiful performance in front of Congress and a public that overwhelmingly believes Clemens guilty, Towns has changed his tune:
“I think Clemens is guilty, of course I do. I think he was lying.”
“I think it is pretty clear he lied. Why would Pettitte, who is his close, personal friend, all of a sudden say we talked about [using HGH]? I don’t see [Pettitte] lying about that.”
“I was the 19th person to meet with him. Why am I the one being talked about?”
With even the willfully crooked jumping ship things are looking bad for for Fat Billy.
