Recording suspects' statements in custody on tape, Mr. Kelly correctly noted, "can aid not only the innocent, the defense and the prosecution but also enhance public confidence in the criminal justice system by increasing transparency as to what was said and done".
This struck me as a highly suspect statement.
"I suspect the statements that make people maddest are those they worry might be true".
It would protect the police from false claims of abuse, create a clear record of suspects' statements and it would bolster public confidence in the legal system.
If the suspects' statements have not provided a precise timeline of the crime, they have been of great use to investigators as they tracked leads across New Jersey and down the Eastern Seaboard.
In religion, for example, it would render suspect the statement that God exists, which, being metaphysical, would be strictly speaking meaningless.
Regarding the speculation about its phone business spin-out, I suspect the statement was really made more to relieve pressure in the system than anything else.
Last month, Waxman and Tom Davis, Republican of Virginia, formally asked the Department of Justice to investigate shortstop Miguel Tejada for suspected false statements in 2005.
But Blakeman said he suspects the statements are political, aimed at further blaming and embarrassing the Bush administration.
In a related case last month, Waxman and Davis jointly asked the Justice Department to investigate shortstop Miguel Tejada for suspected false statements in 2005, when Tejada spoke privately with committee staff members about performance-enhancing drugs.
