How not to give testimony

Someone really should have schooled Steve Mendell about the ins and outs of appearing before a Congressional committee. Mendell is the head of Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing, which was involved in the largest-ever meat recall. That's kind of a big deal, which means that when a House panel invites you to testify, you show up, even without being subpoenaed (Mendell was a no-show during an earlier House hearing). So Mendell gets called again - this time with a subpoena - and has a prepared statement in which he claimed that no downer cattle had entered the food supply. “They were not slaughtered, ground or sold," he said. Well, not quite. Mendell had to retract that statement when he was shown a Humane Society video in which a downer cow was shocked and abused by workers trying to move it to the “kill box.” It was shot with a bolt gun and dragged by a chain to the processing area. Mendell claims he hadn't seen that video because the Humane Society refused to give him a copy. But the video has been on the group’s Web site since Feb. 19. Wait, it gets even better. Mendell's lawyer is none other than Asa Hutchinson, a former member of Congress. Hutchinson said Mendell still did not have all the facts about the events shown in the videotapes. Here's the NYT account.