Knowing the firestorm that would ensue, the respected former senator took a gamble putting Clemens in the report without the more incriminating evidence that has dogged other players — namely, copies of checks sent to a steroid supplier. If it turns out McNamee lied about Clemens, Mitchell's reputations takes a heavy hit. There's also the issue of how clear Mitchell's team was to Clemens about the allegations against him; Clemens has claimed that he was never told the specific nature of the steroid accusations, and that since he assumed they revolved around older allegations that have seen been disproven, he saw no reason to talk about them. (Mitchell has said he sent the players' union a list of players who faced allegations — Clemens was on the list — and told the union that he would divulge more details about the allegations during interviews with players). But keep in mind that Clemens is only one guy. No one has disproved the allegations against the other 90 or so players named in the report, and in fact several have acknowledged their accuracy. Mitchell will not not appear before Congress on Wednesday, though Charlie Scheeler, a lawyer in his firm who played a pivotal role in the investigation, will testify.
— by Sean Gregory