As many of you know, former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens has been back in the news following his recent acquittal. A federal grand jury indicted Clemens on Aug. 19, 2010 on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of steroids. The indictment also charged Clemens with two counts of perjury in connection with his February 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Clemens' first trial began on July 13, 2011, but on the second day of testimony the judge declared a mistrial after prosecutors showed the jury evidence they had previously been told by the judge not to show. The verdict from his retrial came in earlier this month. Clemens was found not guilty of all charges. When Clemens' name hit the news again recently, a friend of mine asked, “What exactly was Roger Clemens charged with?”

Most reporters are incorrectly stating that Clemens was found innocent of six counts of perjury when, in reality, he only had two counts of perjury. The first crime listed on his indictment was for contempt of Congress. Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a senator or representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, the charge has generally applied to the refusal to comply with a subpoena issued by a congressional committee.

For example, if a person receives a subpoena from Congress and refuses to fully carry out what the subpoena orders, Congress can issue a contempt citation. The presiding officer of the chamber is then instructed to refer the matter to a U.S. attorney. It is then the duty of the U.S. attorney to refer the matter to a federal grand jury. The punishment for contempt of Congress includes a jail penalty of not less than one month or more than 12 months, with a potential fine.

Clemens other charges were perjury and making false statements. Perjury is the willful act of lying while under oath. Therefore, the lie must be made at a hearing and must affect the outcome of the hearing. For example, if a sworn witness lies about his age in court, this lie is only considered to be perjury if the man's true age affects the outcome of the case. Perjury carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

Making false statements prohibits lying or concealing information from a federal officer. Essentially, a making false statements charge is the same as perjury, without the requirement that the oath has been administered. To prove a making false statements charge, the government must show that the witness lied to a federal officer in order to undermine functions of governmental departments and agencies. This crime also carries a fine and a prison sentence of up to five years.

After this explanation my friend asked why the government spent so much time and money on trying to prosecute Roger Clemens—perhaps the best question of all.