Perjury and the U.S. Congress

Posted at 2:25 PM on August 19, 2010 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)
Filed under: Crime and Justice, Politics

Roger Clemens, a former favorite to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame, was indicted today for lying to Congress when he testified on the use of steroids in baseball. Clemens vehemently denied using steroids.

A month earlier he denied steroid use even more forcefully.

Had Clemens had a more favorable committee chair, perhaps he could have avoided the prospect of prison. Take this 2006 classic in which the late Sen. Ted Stevens refused to allow oil company executives to swear to tell the truth when they were called to answer questions about their ties to vice president Dick Cheney's "energy task force."

It is, actually, a crime to lie to Congress, even if you don't take an oath to tell the truth.

Comments (1)

I have a hard time understanding why it's a priority for Congress to investigate steroid use. Don't they have better things to do? Why is this an issue that rises to the level of ongoing Congressional hearings?

Posted by Lindsey | August 20, 2010 9:58 AM

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