Clemens' smooth-talking Texas lawyer did his client no favors by promising that if IRS steroid investigator Jeff Novitzky ever "messes" with Clemens, "Roger will eat his lunch." That remark, published in the New York Times, compelled Representative Henry Waxman, Democrat of California and chairman of the House committee holding the hearings, to fire off a letter to Hardin. Waxman warned that Hardin's words could be construed as "an attempt to intimidate a federal law enforcement official." Even before Waxman sent the letter, Hardin had made clear to reporters that he went over the line with his comments, but he had already ticked off Waxman, never a smart move. Hardin's decision to play a taped conversation between Clemens and McNamee at a press conference in January also called into question his judgment; it led to more questions than answers about the Rocket's innocence, and only further fanned the flames of the media firestorm. Hardin could use a primetime performance from Clemens to lift him out of the doghouse.
— by Sean Gregory