NEW YORK – I found myself bewildered by the Roger Clemens Congressional hearing on Wednesday, a proceeding which clearly devolved into some form of absurd theater rather than a valid legislative inquiry.

Roger Clemens told his story to a skeptical Congress.

And then I found myself equally bewildered by the reactions afterward of many observers. Although I expected there would be a distinct division between those who believe Clemens and those who don’t, I didn’t expect so many observers (some who should certainly know better) to be so quick to turn the Clemens drama into a racial issue.

They did so by concluding that a failure to subject Clemens to the same perjury prosecution facing Barry Bonds would be evidence of racial bias by the Justice Department.

The argument seems to be: If you’re going to prosecute the black baseball star you should also prosecute the white baseball star.

First of all, let’s not be so quick to indict the Justice Department until there has been a sufficient opportunity to conduct an investigation and determine if a prosecution is appropriate. Perhaps the answer to that question will be “yes” and Roger Clemens’ name will be penciled in, not to a line-up card, but to a criminal docket.

But if the Justice Department decides not to prosecute, there are some very valid distinctions between Clemens and Bonds (and other high profile perjury defendants such as Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby) that could explain the decision.

For instance, the lying alleged in Bond’s case–as with Stewart and Libby–came during the course of an active criminal investigation. Clemens’ statements were offered during a voluntary informational session, apparently requested by Clemens, which the chairman of the Committee now agrees should not have taken place.

Given this situation, the Justice Department might conclude that there was no compelling justification to devote the resources to what many would argue is simply a purely personal matter between Clemens and former trainer Brian McNamee.

Additionally, prosecutors believe there is sufficient independent evidence to corroborate the charges against Bonds, as juries also found in convicting both Stewart and Libby. But we don’t yet know if prosecutors will conclude that there is sufficient valid evidence against Clemens, in addition to the testimony of his accuser, that would constitute proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

And finally, any claim that a decision not to prosecute would somehow be based on race ignores the fairly obvious fact that prosecutors were not the least bit reluctant to go after Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby, both of whom were rich, powerful and white. Maybe Roger Clemens will be prosecuted, maybe he won’t. The point is, if the Justice Department decides not to prosecute, don’t be so quick to jump on the “It’s all about race” or “It’s all about rich white Republicans” bandwagon. Perhaps it’s just all about the law.

– Jack Ford, In Session anchor