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Rep. Davis questions Clemens referral |
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By Kevin Bogardus
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Posted: 03/25/08 06:50 PM [ET] |
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The senior Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report Tuesday questioning that panel’s referral of pitcher Roger Clemens to the Justice Department for perjury.
“Did Roger Clemens lie to us? Some of the evidence seems to say he did; other information suggests he told the truth,” said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the panel’s ranking member, in a statement that accompanied the report. “Memories fade and recollections differ. That’s human nature, not criminal conduct. My concern is the integrity of sworn statements made to Congress.”
Davis signed onto the Clemens referral to Justice along with Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the committee’s chairman, in late February this year. However, Davis’s statement and the 109-page report by the committee’s minority staff cast doubt on whether GOP members believe Clemens committed perjury when he testified to the committee last month.
At that hearing, committee Republicans often defended Clemens while Democrats targeted the pitcher on the allegation that he used performance-enhancing drugs while playing baseball. Many GOP members chafed at the referral of Clemens to the Justice Department and took exception to a memo released by Waxman’s staff that suggested Clemens committed perjury.
Clemens, who denied using performance-enhancing drugs, was contradicted at the hearing by his ex-trainer, Brian McNamee, as well as in a deposition given to committee staff by former teammate Andy Pettitte.
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