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When Is Lying To Congress A Crime?

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 02:46:38 PM EST
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When you lie about steroid use:

All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to Congress about steroids, with the baseball player scheduled to appear in court Wednesday where he is expected to plead guilty.

When isn't it? When you are Bush DOJ official Brad Schlozman:

I am particularly disturbed about the findings that a senior Justice Department appointee, Bradley Schlozmann, made false statements under oath when appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We always look to baseball players to tell the truth, but not Justice Dept. officials.

Speaking for me only

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    When Is Lying To Congress A Crime? | 30 comments (30 topical)

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    The American Democratic System (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by ghost2 on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:09:04 PM EST
    As I understand, the American democratic system requires a President to be impeached for lying about sex, and perhaps even removed from office.  However, it doesn't require impeachment for lying repeatedly to go to War, and bring ruins and misery to millions of people.  

    Was it Goebbels who said, the biggest lies are the easiest to believe?  Well, it seems that this principle applies not only to lies, but crimes as well.  Screw up a bit, and everyone wants to make an example of you.  Screw up majorly, and go home free.  

    Why else would petty criminals stealing a video be punished and put in jail, but criminals on wall streets get off?

    Now, if Miguel Tejada had the foresight to first get a few hundred millions or a couple of billions through questionable trading practices, and then appear before congress, things may have turned out differently.  

    Professional courtesy? (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by jbindc on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:10:42 PM EST
    From one government official to another? (Since they all lie....)

    Cultural relevance? (5.00 / 5) (#6)
    by Fabian on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:30:24 PM EST
    I don't "get into" sports, so it doesn't burst my bubble to find out some sports hero took dangerous/banned/unknown drugs to enhance his performance or that he lied to Congress about it.

    I don't buy tickets or licensed products.  I don't watch the games.  I don't pay his salary.

    OTOH - I DO pay my taxes and directly support federal employees, so I DO get outraged when they lie to Congress, to me, to the media.

    Huge baseball fan here (none / 0) (#19)
    by lobary on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 07:15:56 PM EST
    I may be in the minority, but I've never been long for the fainting couch on the topic of steroid use in MLB. I just don't really care that much. Your point is well taken about lying to Congress, but I put the blame squarely on Selig and his fellow billionaire owners for not being more responsive early on to the steroid problem.

    Parent
    Oh dear, I wish Obama had said that last (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by FoxholeAtheist on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:36:37 PM EST
    night when he was asked about A-Rod:
    We always look to baseball players to tell the truth, but not Justice Dept. officials.
    hm (5.00 / 3) (#13)
    by Nasarius on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 04:58:02 PM EST
    You made me go look at the transcript.

    I think it's depressing news on top of what's been a flurry of depressing items when it comes to Major League Baseball. And if you're a fan of Major League Baseball, I think it -- it tarnishes an entire era to some degree. And it's unfortunate, because I think there are a lot of ballplayers who played it straight. And the thing I'm probably most concerned about is the message that it sends to our kids.

    What I'm pleased about is Major League Baseball seems to finally be taking this seriously, to recognize how big of a problem this is for the sport.


    I find it depressing that the President of the United States is able to give such a detailed and informed response on such an incredibly trivial issue.

    Especially when it's followed up by:

    Today Senator Patrick Leahy announced that he wants to set up a truth and reconciliation committee to investigate the misdeeds of the Bush administration. He said that before you turn the page, you have to read the page first. Do you agree with such a proposal, and are you willing to rule out right here and now any prosecution of Bush administration officials?

    OBAMA: I haven't seen the proposal, so I don't want to express an opinion on something that I haven't seen.



    Parent
    But, but, but.... (5.00 / 3) (#9)
    by kdog on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:42:11 PM EST
    ballplayers are role models, and need to be held to a higher standard than justice dept. officials, who nobody is foolish enough to look up to.

    It's for the kids:)

    Oliver North (5.00 / 4) (#10)
    by pluege on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:44:37 PM EST
    Oliver North, decorated Marine and republican mascot is damn proud of his lying to Congress. Republicans made him out to be a hero because of it.

    As much as I despised reagan for his ignorance and trivializing of the Presidency, and concluded that republicans in general must be idiots for nominating such a fool, I didn't know for sure just how craven and dangerously anti-American the whole republican personality was until they all cheered Oliver North's pride and bravado in his lying to Congress.

    Beat me to it and took (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by oldpro on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:52:02 PM EST
    the words right outta my mouth.

    They even ran him for the senate but he had to settle for being a TV host.

    Parent

    Don't forget the tobacco execs (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by BernieO on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 05:20:29 PM EST
    Also Colin Powell lied about the fact that his boss, Caspar Weinberger kept a diary during the Iran Contra investigation. I am not sure if he lied to Congress or to the Federal investigators but both are supposed to be a crime. Just ask Martha Stewart.
    Just be sure you don't lie about sex or steroids.

    Parent
    Its all a deflection from what is really going on! (5.00 / 0) (#15)
    by fly on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 06:57:18 PM EST
    Mitchell is the MLB Drug Czar..but he has been sent to the middle east by Obama..and then a confidential test of A-Rod gets released ..yes it was confidential..or was supposedto be and it hits first on all major news networks..just like it did under Bush..everytime Bush needed a deflection he used Baseball..now Obama is doing the same thing when his stimulus plan was in trouble..it is indeed troubling to me that the same pattern is being used by the Obama media!

    Oh and I have tracked this and watched it closely ..because my husband was a 17 yr major leaguer and was a former Union VP for MLB.

    Don't believe me??? look up each time MLB ballplayers have been used for deflection by Bush througbh 8 years and see what was going on at the time!
    Now it is Obama doing the same dang thing!
    Same crap different pres.

    And do look up who Obama sent to the middle east this past week!!

    !00 percent right. Ths is just another iteration (none / 0) (#24)
    by scribe on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 08:29:14 PM EST
    in the owners' attempts to break the union.

    I have heard (on my local sports-talk station) more stupid ranting about how Orza and Fehr supposedly screwed over the players, most particularly by not destroying the samples and/or data from the 2003 testing.  When you try to tell these clowns (and, to be fair, the hosts on the sports-talk shows are by and large clowns made hyper-energetic from multiple cans of Red Bull or similar substances) that to have destroyed the samples in the face of a dispute with the Feds over them and access to them, would have been ... obstruction of justice, one gets cut off.

    Bashing the union - and all unions - is the editorial position of the tradmed and, IMHO, this stunt is just a warmup for the big fight coming over EFCA.

    As to your husband's baseball career - wow.  17 years.  You know, this is a site which is populated by lots, and lots of really knowledgable fans and lovers of the game.  (Don't let BTD's Tebo fixation fool you.)  You should get him to come by, too.  If he doesn't already.  I'm sure he could give a lot of insights into issues - particularly labor-managment - that we could never get elsewhere.

    Parent

    17 years? (none / 0) (#26)
    by lobary on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 08:39:57 PM EST
    Lemme guess--lefty relief specialist?

    Parent
    I'll Bite (none / 0) (#28)
    by Frank Burns on Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 10:40:27 AM EST
    Because I thought the question from the WaPo at Obama's presser, about A-Rod, seemed to be from left field (npi). Could this have been a Jeff Gannon moment?

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    And,Of Course (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by kaleidescope on Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 12:06:41 AM EST
    It's much more heinous to corrupt a baseball game than it is to corrupt Congress.

    Brad Schlozman: not a role model (none / 0) (#1)
    by andgarden on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 02:52:34 PM EST
    OT: widgetserver.com is causing TL to melt down and not load pages.

    I'll tell J (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 02:53:32 PM EST


    Parent
    Seems fixed, thanks. (none / 0) (#8)
    by andgarden on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:41:45 PM EST


    Parent
    You note: (none / 0) (#5)
    by scribe on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 03:28:59 PM EST
    We always look to baseball players to tell the truth, but not Justice Dept. officials.

    But you do not go far enough.

    You should have it read:  

    We always look to baseball players, whose alleged lies might be coming through an interpreter and who seem to be not the brightest bulb on the tree (except when it comes to playing baseball), to tell the truth, but not Justice Dept. lawyers, and especially not when those lies are in the service of Building A Permanent Republican Majority.

    That's more like it.

    Tejada... (none / 0) (#12)
    by desertswine on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 04:55:36 PM EST
    should be forced to play for Houston. That would be punishment enough.

    Forced? (none / 0) (#17)
    by lobary on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 07:06:16 PM EST
    He's under contract with the Astros for 13 million this season. As an Astros diehard, I take exception to your remark.

    Parent
    Can anyone explain to me (none / 0) (#16)
    by TimNCGuy on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 07:01:56 PM EST
    what possible reason the government has for getting into the private industry called "baseball"?

    Does the governemtn get involved in other private industries to make sure their HR departments are following procedures to hold their employees up to their strict drug standards.  (outside of industries where consumer safety could be compromised).

    And, while we are at it, could reporters please stop asking politicians about what team or player they are rooting for in any upcoming sporting contest?

    Well (none / 0) (#21)
    by Steve M on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 07:46:32 PM EST
    if MLB wants to give up their antitrust exemption, they would probably have a better argument that government should not care about how they do business.

    Parent
    Quite suspicious: stimulus package (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by oculus on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 07:55:16 PM EST
    and steroids.  

    Parent
    Members of Congress who want (none / 0) (#18)
    by inclusiveheart on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 07:08:40 PM EST
    to be on the baseball commission are free to leave and make room for some people who are more serious about focusing on our democracy and goverment.

    You mean members like Henry Waxman? (none / 0) (#20)
    by lobary on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 07:17:47 PM EST


    Parent
    Sadly, yes. (none / 0) (#23)
    by inclusiveheart on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 08:07:36 PM EST
    These side shows are ridiculous given the fact that the pressing issues of our time are still being ignored by Congress whenever possible - they engage in this stuff so that they don't have to deal with the real stuff that actually affects us all on a much, much more significant level.

    Obama, Leahy and so many others don't want to even investigate war crimes - but they want to investigate steriods in baseball?  Really?  Really.  Seriously, that's crazy.  Fine if they want to do both (kinda), but if they will address steroids in baseball and not war crimes then what's the point?  They may as well go work for Major League Baseball who wouldn't have them because they enjoy huge profits from a homerun king regardless of what drugs he's on.

    Parent

    False choice (none / 0) (#25)
    by lobary on Tue Feb 10, 2009 at 08:37:16 PM EST
    Congress can walk and chew gum at the same time. Whenever a big story breaks in the world of sports that might result in Congress getting involved, the hue and cry is always the same--doesn't Congress have anything better to do?! Actually, given the antitrust exemption MLB enjoys and the immense wealth it generates for the owners, managers, players, and agents, I think congressional oversight of the way baseball conducts its business is justifiable.

    Sure, I share your frustration at the lack of accountability for the outrageous abuses of power and the outright lying that transpired during the Bush administration, but I don't think a four hour hearing before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee for Roger Clemens to testify and make an ass of himself is inherently wrong and a huge waste of time and committee resources. The public perception that it's wasteful is really just a result of the publicity the story got. How many Americans bother to tune in to CSpan on a regular basis to watch their government at work?

    How many times did you watch that same committee hold hearings on the collapse of Fannie and Freddie Mae, hedge funds, the actions of federal regulators in the financial markets, credit rating agencies, the causes and effects of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, etc etc etc. (You can click here to see the work they've done in hearings and investigations. They're not just sitting around waiting for the next sports scandal...

    Parent

    But the problem is that they are (none / 0) (#29)
    by inclusiveheart on Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 07:02:35 PM EST
    NOT walking and chewing gum at the same time.  If they were, I'd have less of a problem with this baseball folly - although I'd still have a problem with it because I think it is a waste of time since the owners are pretty happy with these homerun hitters regardless of how they achieve that - and the fans seem to be too imo.  It just seems like a useless soap opera to me.

    Parent
    It is a soap opera. (none / 0) (#30)
    by lobary on Wed Feb 11, 2009 at 08:18:13 PM EST
    But it's not Congress who should be blamed. Congress only got involved because of the sanctimonious fans and reporters who refuse to let this story die. I blame MLB and the media for fueling the soap opera.

    Parent
    When Is Lying To Congress A Crime? | 30 comments (30 topical)

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