MSNBC Countdown - Transcript

MSNBC Countdown - Transcript
Thursday, August 4, 2005

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STEWART: Congressman Linda Sanchez of California is a member of the committee launching the Palmeiro investigation. Congresswoman, it's nice to have you back on
COUNTDOWN.

REP. LINDA SANCHEZ (D), CALIFORNIA: It's great to be back with you.

STEWART: As we just heard, Palmeiro was adamant that he had never used steroids when he testified before your committee. What was your reaction when you learned that he had failed that drug test?

SANCHEZ: Basically, I was shocked. I mean, it was a-a huge surprise to me to hear, especially since his testimony before the committee had been so emphatic that he had never used. And you know, to get a bombshell like that obviously was a big shock.

STEWART: That day, did you believe him?

SANCHEZ: You know, it's interesting because I found that the testimony by the players at the hearing seemed to be like they were holding back. I-I found them to be very tight-lipped and not very forthcoming in really talking about the issue of steroid use in baseball and how widespread it is and how deep-rooted the problem is. So you know, I had my questions following the hearing. I didn't feel like everything got answered at the hearing.

STEWART: All right. Let's talk about the timeline a little bit because if Mr. Palmeiro testified before your committee on March 17, but he didn't take this drug test until May, isn't it going to be difficult to prove perjury?

SANCHEZ: Well, I think it's important to say that the committee isn't actively trying to prove a perjury claim. What we have done is-our chairman and our ranking member have requested documentation with respect to the test. They want to review that information, and depending on, you know, what the review of the information yields, they may look at a possible perjury charge, or they may just decide that there really isn't a basis for that. And the jury is still out on that until we have a chance to review that documentation. They've simply taken the first step and made the request for the test results and the information surrounding it.

STEWART: So what do you want to learn from all this documentation from the investigation? What are your still lingering questions?

SANCHEZ: Sure. Well, you know, I have a lot of questions lingering from the hearing. Obviously, he was very-again, very adamant about the fact he had never taken. The test results are a bombshell. He says that it's inadvertent. I want to see what he tested positive for. There has been speculation about that, but until we see the records and we know, we won't know for sure.
Supplements, which are a very common whipping boy for folks that play professional sports, tend to be, you know, the convenient excuse. And we want to see what type of steroid did he test positive for and other information in terms of how much of it was in his system, et cetera. Those are the questions I have and that, hopefully, the documents will help clarify for the committee.

STEWART: Let's take this a little bit bigger. There have been reports that major league baseball might have sat on the information of Palmeiro's failed drug test for a while. Do you feel the league is doing enough on its own to fight steroid use?

SANCHEZ: I think there are questions as to really how hard is the league cracking down on steroid use or performance-enhancing drugs among their players. I don't think they would have been called to testify before the Government Reform Committee in Congress if we felt like there was enough being done. Obviously, now they understand that we're interested in this issue, we're going to keep pursuing this issue, and that they really need to start cracking down. And hopefully, they're headed in the right direction.

But there are still things that Congress can do to try to make sure that-if they're not taking the proper steps, that the proper steps to discourage the use are taken, including potentially legislating a universal standard among all professional sports for what will happen if you test positive for steroid use and what the consequences will be.

STEWART: Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, thank you so much for your time tonight.

SANCHEZ: My pleasure. Thanks for inviting me.

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