Posted By:
Jeff LichtmanTodd, I haven't based my opinion on Clemens due solely to the 60 Minutes interview. I've repeatedly stated that many other factors contributed to my belief including -- and I'll state this again -- the corroboration of McNamee supplied by Pettite, the slowness in the response by Clemens, the ridiculousness of his claim to having been injected by McNamee, his discussion of steroids with Canseco, along with everything that I saw last night. Clearly my opinion is not limited to a few minutes of an interview.
As for the accuracy of a polygraph test, as I've said there is a wide disparity in opinions and tests. That being said, there is a good reason that the FBI uses polygraph tests routinely as part of their investigation techniques. So do many police departments. The US Department of Justice uses polygraph tests often for security clearance tests. Etc. etc.
I'm not sure how many criminal cases you've tried but I think most criminal lawyers will tell you that when you get lied to enough by a witness under oath you can pretty much spot the signs of dishonesty fairly quickly -- and I'm not talking about twitching and pursed lips and darting eyes. I'm talking about answers that make no sense, excuses that are laughable and difficulty answering questions that were so easily handled on direct examination of the prosecutor.
In sum, Clemens is lying. And as I predicted yesterday -- and confirmed by Clemens tonight -- he will testify before Congress without asserting the 5th Amendment. When you are exposed to enough sociopaths their patterns become familiar.