June 19, 2012 12:56PM 

# Why Roger Clemens—And John Edwards—Beat the Feds 

By [Walter Olson](https://www.cato.org/people/walter-olson) 

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At Forbes, Daniel Fisher asks a former federal official whether a thread connects the failed white-collar prosecutions of the [onetime presidential candidate](http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-06/D9VCTQMO0.htm) and the [baseball great](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/story/2012-06-18/roger-clemens-not-guilty/55679200/1). Yes, as a matter of fact, [there might](http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/06/18/was-the-clemens-jury-a-hotbed-of-tea-partiers/): “Jurors could be sending a message to Washington they don’t like the awesome firepower of the Justice Dept. brought to bear on borderline cases without an obvious victim.”

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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