Moron...I mean, More On Rendell

Rendell's Testimony: He Would Consider Lying Under Oath
By: Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin

Philadelphia - Gov. Ed Rendell (D) said in a federal deposition on Jan. 2, 2002 that if asked under oath about a hypothetical instance of adultery on his part, he might not answer honestly, The Bulletin has learned.

Mr. Rendell was then a gubernatorial candidate responding to lawyers for Don and Teri Adams about events that transpired on Oct. 2, 1998, when the brother and sister protested a Philadelphia visit by Bill Clinton in anticipation of the president's impeachment. Members of the Teamsters union assaulted the two that evening.

Mr. and Miss Adams received civil recompense for the actions of the Teamsters in March. Mr. Rendell was initially named as a defendant in the Adams' lawsuit; they alleged that, as mayor at the time, he encouraged Teamsters Local 115 to have two of its female members press assault charges against Mr. Adams. On July 8, 1999, Mr. Adams was found not guilty.

Five teamsters, meanwhile, pled guilty to charges of assault and received probation for their aggression against the Adamses.

Larry Klayman, an attorney from the D.C.-based nonprofit Judicial Watch, began asking the future governor about the nature of the perjury allegation against President Clinton in 1998 in order to contend that any visit by a president likely to face impeachment charges would raise security risks. The deposition took place at Esquire Deposition Services in Philadelphia. (Click link to read more):

Mr. Rendell registered his view that the "impeachment was a joke. I thought it was probably the biggest taint of the American constitutional history that we've had."

"Well, quite - quite apart from the impeachment was the fact that the President lied under oath," Mr. Klayman replied. "Did you consider that to be a joke?"

"Gosh, probably as a prosecutor," Mr. Rendell answered, "I'm used to people lying under oath. And, you know, if - if I cheated on my wife and was asked about it under oath, I might lie about it too."

"What others kinds of things warrant lying under oath besides cheating on your wife?" Mr. Klayman then asked.

Mr. Rendell's attorney Peter Winebrake objected. "It's irrelevant," he said. "Don't answer it."

Such was not the only moment of note during Mr. Rendell's testimony. At a continuation of it on Jun. 15, 2002, Miss Adams recalls the former mayor was perceptibly angry because he was, by her understanding, forced to return early from a fundraising trip in California.

"He came into the room displaying a temper," she said, "banging on the conference table and complaining to Mr. Klayman that this lawsuit was a waste of his time, saying, 'Let's go or I'm walking out.'"

She describes Mr. Rendell's demeanor oscillating "from one of anger to one of laughter, as he and his legal cohorts began mocking Mr. Klayman and our suit in general."

"If this had happened to you and your wife, you wouldn't think it so funny," she recalled Mr. Adams saying to the ex-mayor at that point.

She said Mr. Rendell responded by raising his arm, clenching his fist and proceeding to lunge at him, at which point Mr. Winebrake stepped between them to prevent physical contact.

Mr. Rendell's office did not choose to comment.

Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin