Legal issues involving public figures often have a public-relations dimension as well as a political angle, and this past week’s Congressional testimony of Mark McGuire regarding Major League Baseball’s steroids scandal is a case in point.
The key legal issue in regard to McGuire’s testimony was whether he should assert the privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Congressional investigators had already declined to grant immunity from use of the Congressional testimony in any criminal prosecution of Mr. McGuire, so McGuire and his attorneys had to address the knotty public relations issue of having McGuire assert the Fifth in front of glare of national television, just like, say, one of those disgraced Enron executives.
So, what did McGuire do? Best I can tell, he took the Fifth without actually saying that he was taking the Fifth, which is pretty darn clever if he gets away with it. Fortunately for McGuire, none of the Committee members pressed the issue and required McGwire to answer directly or take the Fifth to the question of whether he had ever taken steroids. However, when he was asked the question, McGwire answered by presenting himself as the kind of “stand-up” guy who does implicate his former teammates. The following is a passage from his prepared statement to the Committee:

“I have been advised that my testimony here could be used to harm friends and respected teammates, or that some ambitious prosecutor can use convicted criminals who would do and say anything to solve their own problems, and create jeopardy for my friends . . . My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, or myself.”

Thus, McGuire’s lawyers and P.R. advisors appear to have accomplished the nice trick of having McGuire take the Fifth without actually coming out directly and saying so. It will be interesting to watch whether the grand jury that is currently investigating baseball’s steroids scandal will press the issue with McGuire that the Congressional investigators decided not to push.