The absurdity of the Clemens trial

The dozens of readers of this blog may recall that I have a long aversion to wasting of government resources on such absurdities as the Barry Bonds prosecution, which serve no public purpose other than setting up scapeboats.

There's a long article in the Washington Post today about the battle over the defense seeking to compel testimony from leading Congressional dingbat Darrel Issa. Here's the passage that caught my eye --


Legal experts are split in their opinions on how Walton might rule, but they mostly agree that the showdown highlights a central absurdity of the trial: Lawmakers sought the Justice Department investigation into Clemens’s testimony but won’t appear in court.
“Here you have federal prosecutors going out on a limb to help these guys, members of Congress,” said Roscoe Howard, a former U.S. attorney for the District. “It seems inherently unfair when lawmakers refer someone for prosecution and then don’t show up at a public trial to give their perspective or even tell why this case is as important as they say it is.”