Congress to Clemens' Attorney Hardin - Shut Up or We'll Charge You, Too!

Roger Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, fears that IRS agent Jeff Novitzky, a key steroid investigator, will attend Wednesday's public hearing on steroids before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Hardin reported stated "I can tell you this: If he ever messes with Roger, Roger will eat his lunch."

Well, Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) took some offense to those comments. You can see a PDF version of the letter he sent to Hardin here, but since it's public record, let me reproduce it here. Please save laughter and applause until the end.

blahblahblahblahb For the love of God, STOP F-ING WITH THE FEDS PEOPLE!

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Dear Mr. Hardin:

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I read with some concern your comments in the New York Times today. According to the New York Times, you said it would be "unbelievable" and "brazen" if a federal agent, Jeff Novitzky, attended a Committee hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 13.
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The article also reported that you said: "I can tell you this: If he ever messes with Roger, Roger will eat his lunch."

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Some of the previous comments by both you and the attorneys representing Mr. McNamee in recent weeks have struck me as inadvisable but I have refrained from making any comment. If today's quotation is accurate, however, it goes beyond any personal enmity that exists between Roger Clemens and Mr. McNamee. I do not know your intent in making this statement, but under one interpretation it can be seen an attempt to intimidate a federal law enforcement official in the performance of his official duties.

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I have never met with or spoken to Mr. Novitzky and have no information whether he intends to attend the hearing. As an independent branch of government, our inquiry operates independently of the executive branch.

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And as a witness in our independent investigation, it is not your client's prerogative to dictate who attends or does not attend the hearing. Given your long service as both a prosecutor and a private attorney, I trust you did not intend your comments to be a signal that there could be adverse repercussions to a federal law enforcement official for attending the hearing or taking other official actions.
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I would urge you to clarify the record at your earliest convenience.

I could never overstate how much damage Rusty Hardin has done to Roger Clemens from the outset. He put all his eggs in Clemens' basket, and now he's pissed off the very Committee that is going to grill Roger Wednesday. Can you be disbarred for being stupid?

(Since posting, ESPN, CNNSI and other outlets have picked up on the letter.)