The office of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is "paying a former employee" of the South Florida Biogenesis clinic linked to PEDs "for documents related to the case," according to Schmidt & Eder of the N.Y. TIMES. Sources said that at the "same time ... at least one player linked to the clinic has purchased documents from a former clinic employee in order to destroy them." The sources said that there are "efforts by other players tied to the clinic to buy potentially incriminating documents and keep them out of the hands of baseball’s investigators." MLB has no subpoena power in the case, and a source said that MLB in part "felt compelled to pay money for documents because its officials had been concerned that more than one player was trying to do the same." The sources added that MLB has "now provided payments to former employees of the clinic who have cooperated with the sport’s investigators." The sources said that the payments were for the "time they provided to the investigators." The fact that MLB is "making payments in exchange for documents and for the cooperation of former clinic employees raises questions about whether it is tainting its own investigation by doing so." Columbia Univ. law school professor Daniel Richman said that on its "face, there does not appear to be anything illegal about baseball -- a private organization -- paying witnesses." However, he added that it "could haunt the league down the road as it proceeds with its lawsuit and seeks to use information it has obtained through it to discipline players." Richman: "In the context of a lawsuit, you will have a witness’s credibility attacked if they take money from the side that calls them to give evidence" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/12).
