"If (Clemens) is convicted," Reggie Walton said, "knowing how I sentence, he goes to jail. He is entitled to a fair trial. He cannot get that now." [...]
"Listen, the prosecution made a mistake, clearly. But it was an inadvertent mistake, simply because they didn't gain anything by violating Judge Walton's orders on hearsay. I'm not one to ever defend the prosecution, it's not my nature, but what happened Thursday happens in the heat of battle. It does.
"To me, Walton's comments about jail were the most critical thing that happened Thursday in Washington," the lawyer continued. "I believe that when he talked about jail time - and believe me, if Clemens is convicted of lying to Congress it won't be a couple of months - he was talking directly to Clemens and his attorney. And what he was saying, in my opinion, was this: You've got some time now to reconsider your position. Basically what he was saying to Hardin and Clemens was, 'Figure this out.'"
The lawyer said, "I believe what Judge Walton was really saying to Roger Clemens was that he should think about making a deal before it was too late. He was talking to him, and his lawyer. He's saying, plain as day, 'We're talking about jail, I'm a heavy sentencer. Please figure this out.'"
