Clemens Steroids

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Roger Clemens back on Hill; McNamee's lawyers show committee photos of needles, steroids

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Roger Clemens crisscrossed Capitol Hill, hoping a handshake and a smile would help his cause. His accuser, Brian McNamee, brought two photos showing syringes and vials and even a crumpled beer can in a bid to bolster his side of the story.

The star pitcher and his former personal trainer, once steadfast pals, each spent Thursday trying to persuade a House committee he is telling the truth about whether McNamee injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone.

"Roger Clemens has put himself in a position where his legacy as the greatest pitcher in baseball will depend less on his ERA and more on his DNA," one of McNamee's lawyers, Earl Ward, said slowly, as though recalling a line from a script.

After meeting with lawyers from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for a seven-hour deposition, McNamee beat a path to an exit without saying a word to reporters. He left the talking to his trio of lawyers, who discussed the two color photos of items they say McNamee saved for several years and, when tested, will link Clemens to the use of performance-enhancing ****s.

Less than an hour later, also in the Rayburn House Office Building, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner held his own news conference, after wrapping up the first of two days of meetings with more than a dozen lawmakers, including committee chairman Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis.

Clemens said little, but his lawyers repeatedly attacked McNamee's character and scoffed at the newly presented evidence.

"This man has a total history of lying," Clemens' attorney Rusty Hardin said.

McNamee's lawyers called on Clemens to provide a DNA sample. Asked about that, Hardin said the pitcher would comply with any request of that type from a federal authority.

"But they're going to have to come to us," Hardin said.

McNamee's attorneys did not know when the items would be tested -- or when the results might be known.

"We look forward to the results of these tests," said another McNamee lawyer, Richard Emery, "and we look forward to just definitively finishing this whole controversy and ending this circus."

McNamee's attorneys said he turned over physical evidence to federal prosecutors, shortly after Clemens held a Jan. 7 nationally televised news conference at which he played a taped conversation between the two men.

"At that point," Ward said, "(McNamee) decided there was no holds barred."

One photo shows a beer can that Emery said was taken out of a trash can in Clemens' New York apartment in 2001. Emery said the beer can contained needles used to inject Clemens. That picture also shows what Emery said was gauze used to wipe blood off Clemens after a shot.

The other photo shows vials of what Emery said were testosterone, and unused needles -- items the attorney said Clemens gave to McNamee.

While Clemens' camp called it "manufactured" evidence, Emery said the items were "just a collection of stuff" thrown in a box and "kept in a basement for seven years."

Emery said McNamee kept the items because he "had this inkling and gut feeling that he couldn't trust Roger and better keep something to protect himself in the future."

A relatively subdued Clemens said little at the news conference, essentially repeating the types of brief comments he made earlier Thursday as he walked through marble hallways.

"I'm just glad they made time in their schedule so I can go by and talk to them today," Clemens said shortly before stepping through the wood double doors to Davis' office.

Clemens met with Davis and Waxman for about 20 minutes, then signed an autograph for a bystander upon exiting. That was one of many times Clemens was asked to stop to affix his name to something or pose for a snapshot.

"I'm ready for Wednesday to get here," he said at one point, referring to the public hearing at which he, McNamee, Pettitte and others are to testify.

Clemens spoke to the committee Tuesday -- the first time he addressed McNamee's allegations under oath, and therefore the first time he put himself at legal risk if he were to make false statements.

Thursday's bizarre events served as something of a dress rehearsal for Wednesday's session, which will be held in the same wood-paneled hearing room that housed the committee's 2005 hearing with Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro.

That hearing was part of Congress' push to get baseball to toughen its **** program, increasing tests and penalties. It also led to former Senate majority leader George Mitchell's report on doping in baseball, which contained McNamee's allegations that he injected Clemens more than a dozen times with steroids and human growth hormone in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens repeatedly has denied those accusations.

The 45-year-old Clemens, who pitched for the Yankees last season, requested Thursday's meetings. He carried a white three-ring binder as he headed from one House office building to another, going through a garage and taking a freight elevator at one point.

"Because the perception out there was so strong originally that he did it and was lying, he's going to extra steps to try and persuade and make people comfortable with the fact that he didn't do it. He's having to take extraordinary measures because the allegations are extraordinary," Hardin said.

Hardin said Clemens was meeting with individual representatives "to assure them privately the same thing he's saying publicly -- that he didn't take steroids, and he didn't take human growth hormone, and he's here to talk to anybody about it who wants to."

Rep. Elijah ***mings, a Maryland Democrat on the committee, said after speaking with Clemens: "While he asked for the meeting, I wanted to make sure that when all the dust settles, that he fully understood that baseball players -- whether they want to be or not -- are role models and that children are looking at them."

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Brian McNamee told Congress he injected Roger Clemens' wife

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the ever-stranger saga of Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, the latest element to emerge might be the oddest yet.

McNamee added a new name to the list of people he says he injected with ****s: Debbie Clemens.

McNamee told congressional investigators he injected the Rocket's wife with HGH -- at the seven-time Cy Young Award winner's direction -- before the couple posed for a 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition photo shoot, a lawyer familiar with his testimony said Friday.

The lawyer spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of Thursday's testimony have not been publicly released. McNamee's statements about Debbie Clemens were first reported by the New York Daily News on its Web site Friday.

Roger Clemens and McNamee are scheduled to testify publicly Wednesday at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. McNamee told baseball investigator George Mitchell that he injected Clemens at least 16 times with steroids and HGH in 1998, 2000 and 2001, allegations the star pitcher repeatedly has denied.

Clemens did not comment on the latest accusation, which came out as he wrapped up a second day of face-to-face meetings with members of Congress. Clemens' lawyers, Rusty Hardin and Lanny Breuer, did not directly address the issue when asked about it.

"Did Roger get the Cy Young 'cause his wife took the HGH?" Breuer asked.

Referring to McNamee, Hardin said: "This guy is a colossal liar, and he has absolutely no shame."

Asked specifically about the portion of the report that said Clemens played a role in what happened, Hardin said: "To say that Roger directed that kind of thing is a colossal lie."

Members of the committee and their staff are not supposed to discuss what is said at a congressional deposition; a witness and his lawyers may.

"I will not confirm or deny it. I think it's inappropriate for any purported testimony from yesterday to be revealed," said one of McNamee's lawyers, Richard Emery. "The issue in this case is Roger Clemens' use of steroids and his failure to own up to it."

The committee's Republican general counsel, Keith Ausbrook said: "I have no comment on the content."

Clemens delivered his sworn testimony over five hours Tuesday, then spent Thursday and Friday doing his best imitation of a K Street lobbyist. He met with 12 lawmakers Thursday, then another seven Friday, meaning Clemens has spoken with nearly half of the committee's 41 members.

After McNamee's seven-hour deposition Thursday, his lawyers showed reporters two color photos they brought to the committee, showing items such as needles and steroid vials they say McNamee saved for several years and, when tested, will link Clemens to the use of performance-enhancing ****s.

"That was sort of weird, you must admit," New York Democrat Edolphus Towns said after his sitdown with Clemens on Friday. "For seven years, you hold onto it? That's longer than Monica Lewinsky kept it."

Hours earlier, his lawyers and a PR person in tow, Clemens made his way to the office of Rep. Danny Davis, an Illinois Democrat. That first meeting began shortly after 9:30 a.m., and Clemens did not leave Capitol Hill until about 4 p.m.

"It's highly unusual, and that's why I think one would try to determine the rationale for it. What is he trying to accomplish?" Davis said in an interview with the AP before Clemens arrived. "I am willing to hear him out and hear what he has to say."

And while Clemens was heading home to Texas on Friday night, his camp mentioned the possibility of a news conference Monday and more congressional visits Tuesday.

"I've met a number of the congressmen before," Clemens said. "It's been great. It's not my first trip to Washington."

Several lawmakers characterized the sessions as more social than substantive, noting that Clemens discussed his charitable work.

Others brought up that Clemens or his lawyers disparaged McNamee.

"The meeting was at his request, and only as a matter of courtesy did I meet with him," District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said. "I don't usually meet with witnesses. I don't understand that they serve a purpose, because we don't do a hearing in advance of a hearing."

Also on the witness list for Wednesday are New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, who acknowledged using HGH; former major leaguer Chuck Knoblauch; and former New York Mets clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski, who was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco to five years' probation after cooperating with Mitchell. Radomski pleaded guilty in April to distributing steroids and money laundering, and he led investigators to McNamee.

After talking with Towns, Clemens waited around for a photo op, shaking hands with the congressman but not taking questions from reporters. Before Clemens could leave Towns' office, two members of the representative's staff stopped him to pose for pictures.

A few times during the day, as Clemens walked from the Rayburn House Office Building to Cannon HOB and back to Rayburn, he was asked to sign autographs by people in the hallways.

The 45-year-old Clemens, who pitched for the Yankees last season and ranks eighth in baseball history with 354 wins, carried a black three-ring binder as he made his rounds.

"For me, the question is still out. The verdict is not in," Davis said after his 30 minutes with Clemens. "I'm not certain if he did or if he did not" use steroids.

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Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski gets 5 years probation

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski avoided jail and was sentenced Friday to five years' probation after cooperating with baseball's investigation into the use of performance-enhancing ****s.

Radomski was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston to pay an $18,575 fine after he admitted selling steroids, human growth hormone and speed to dozens of current and former major leaguers.

"These are very, very serious offenses," said Illston, who lectured that some of Radomski's best customers served as role models to children.

Radomski pleaded guilty last April to distributing steroids and laundering money from 1995 until Dec. 14, 2005, when agents raided his Long Island home.

Radomski led investigators to Brian McNamee, the former Yankees strength coach who claimed he injected Roger Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone at least 16 times from 1998-01, an allegation the seven-time Cy Young Award winner vehemently denies.

As part of his plea agreement, Radomski was required to cooperate with federal investigators and former Senate majority leader George Mitchell, who headed baseball's doping probe.

Radomski is required to continue that cooperation. He is scheduled to testify along with Clemens and McNamee on Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

"It sounds like Radomski provided a lot of information that was helpful to the government," said Earl Ward, McNamee's lead lawyer. "They rewarded him for that."

Radomski's lawyer, John Reilly, said outside court that federal officials interviewed Radomski under oath Thursday, but declined to say whether Radomski was asked about Clemens.

Radomski, who had no prior offenses, had faced no more than six months in prison. Assistant U.S. attorney Matt Parrella recommended that Radomski receive probation because of his extensive cooperation.

There's a culture of "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" when it comes to steroid abuse in sports and Radomski's naming of names "is at least a first step to turning that around," Parrella said.

The 38-year-old Radomski walked timidly into court about 30 minutes before his case was called and was joined in the gallery by IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, who sat next to Radomski.

Radomski said little when the judge asked him for his thoughts before meting out his sentence. He apologized to his family and friends and asked the judge for forgiveness.

"Our privacy has been seriously impacted," he said. In a thick New York accent, he declined comment outside court.

Richard Emery, another on McNamee's lawyers, said Clemens and the pitcher's lead attorney should learn from the way Radomski was treated by prosecutors.

"Rusty Hardin and Roger Clemens ought to listen to Matt Parrella loudly and clearly and understand the jeopardy they're putting Roger Clemens in by not cooperating and telling the truth," Emery said.

Radomski's downfall began in February 2005 when a person charged with real estate fraud who had a baseball contact agreed to work undercover with the FBI in exchange for leniency. The informant's contact put that person in touch with Radomski. The informant bought steroids and made numerous telephone calls to Radomski throughout 2005, with federal investigators watching and listening the entire time.

The informant told investigators that Radomski became the biggest steroid supplier to baseball players in 2003 after federal authorities shut down the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, which was the headquarters of a performance-enhancing **** ring catering to elite athletes.

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Clemens' lawyer says he has proof pitcher wasn't at Canseco's 1998 party

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- A lawyer for Roger Clemens said Saturday the pitcher can prove he didn't attend a June 1998 party at Jose Canseco's home described by Brian McNamee in the Mitchell Report.

According to McNamee, Clemens first raised the subject of steroids not long after McNamee saw Canseco and Clemens meeting during the party.

Clemens' side has turned over evidence to congressional investigators, including an affidavit from Canseco, to support that the pitcher wasn't present at Canseco's home that day, the attorney, Rusty Hardin, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Hardin said video footage from telecasts of baseball games around the time of the party also were given to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. During the telecasts, Hardin said, TV announcers can be heard discussing Canseco's party and noting that Clemens wasn't there.

A person familiar with the committee's investigation confirmed to the AP the affidavit and video were turned over and are in Clemens' favor. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.

The House panel is examining former Senate majority leader George Mitchell's report on **** use in baseball, and a public hearing Wednesday is expected to focus on Clemens' denials of what his former personal trainer, McNamee, alleged. McNamee told Mitchell he injected Clemens at least 16 times with steroids and human growth hormone in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

"One of the things the committee is going to hear on Wednesday is about this party that is supposed to have started this whole thing," Hardin said. "Roger wasn't even at this party."

Asked about what Hardin said, one of McNamee's attorneys, Richard Emery, replied: "It may be that he wasn't there for the whole time, but he was there at some point. ... His kids were there, his wife was there, and he was there."

The first mention of Clemens' name in the Mitchell Report is on page 167. On the very next page comes McNamee's account of "a lunch party that Canseco hosted at his home in Miami."

"McNamee stated that, during this luncheon, he observed Clemens, Canseco, and another person he did not know meeting inside Canseco's house, although McNamee did not personally attend that meeting," the Mitchell Report says.

The report goes on to say that Canseco told Mitchell's staff "he had numerous conversations with Clemens about the benefits of Deca-Durabolin and Winstrol and how to 'cycle' and 'stack' steroids."

The report continues: "Toward the end of the road trip which included the Marlins series, or shortly after the Blue Jays returned home to Toronto, Clemens approached McNamee and, for the first time, brought up the subject of using steroids. Clemens said that he was not able to inject himself, and he asked for McNamee's help."

Hardin said that last week Clemens' camp sent a lawyer to interview Canseco, whose book about steroids in baseball, "Juiced," prompted Congress to hold hearings in March 2005. According to Hardin, Canseco said Clemens was not at the party.

Canseco did not immediately respond to a telephone message Saturday night.

His lawyer, Robert Saunooke, said he was unaware of an affidavit but added that he could confirm Canseco has spoken to lawyers for Clemens recently.

As described by Hardin, the video footage turned over to the committee includes one announcer making reference to Canseco's party and saying Clemens didn't show up. Another announcer, Hardin said, then adds that he saw Clemens playing golf that day.

Hardin said Clemens has a receipt for greens fees from that day.

Hardin hopes the committee will show the video during Wednesday's hearing, he said, "and let the public see how dramatic and clear it is that Roger obviously was not at the very party that McNamee is testifying started this whole thing. It's the foundation of it."

Clemens raised the discrepancy about the party during at least some of his various face-to-face meetings with representatives Thursday and Friday.

"He told me he was never there," said Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a Pennsylvania Democrat. "They have physical, hard evidence that he was never there."

Kanjorski was one of seven lawmakers Clemens with Friday, raising the two-day total to 19 -- nearly half of the 41 on the committee.

"Roger made it clear with all the congressmen he was talking to: He wasn't challenging the Mitchell Report," Hardin said. "He was simply challenging the part of it that dealt with him that's based on what McNamee says."

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Roger Clemens and his accuser, Brian McNamee, will be the main witnesses at a House hearing on the Mitchell Report after New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte and two others were dropped Monday night.

Former Clemens teammate Chuck Knoblauch and convicted steroids distributor Kirk Radomski also were taken off the witness list for Wednesday's public session. One new witness was added Monday night: a lawyer who worked with former Senate majority leader George Mitchell to produce December's report on ****s in baseball.

But all attention will be focused on Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, and McNamee, his former personal trainer, who alleged he injected the pitcher with performance-enhancing ****s.

"I guess it's showtime, isn't it?" Clemens' lead lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said in a telephone interview.

Earl Ward, McNamee's lead lawyer, declined to comment on the changes.

McNamee said in the Mitchell Report that he injected Clemens -- who ranks eighth in major league history with 354 wins -- with steroids and human growth hormone at least 16 times in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens' denials of those allegations drew the attention of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

McNamee also accused Pettitte of using HGH -- Pettitte acknowledged he did so for two days in 2002 to deal with an elbow injury. Before Pettitte spoke to committee lawyers under oath last week, Ward said he thought Pettitte would tell Congress he discussed HGH with Clemens between the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

With Monday's decision, Pettitte was spared the potentially difficult situation of having to deliver public testimony that could hurt the position of Clemens, a friend, past teammate and former workout partner. Portions of Pettitte's sworn deposition, though, may be read aloud at the hearing. And the committee's ranking Republican, Tom Davis of Virginia, said in an interview with Newsday that Pettitte's account matches McNamee's in most details.

Radomski -- sentenced Friday to five years' probation after pleading guilty in April to distributing steroids and money laundering -- has said he had no direct contact with Clemens. Knoblauch's knowledge appeared to be peripheral.

Pettitte gave his deposition last Monday, followed the next day by Clemens, and McNamee later in the week. Knoblauch, a four-time All-Star who played on the Yankees with Clemens and Pettitte and like them was named in the Mitchell Report, was interviewed by committee staff last month. Radomski had been scheduled for a pre-hearing interview with committee staff Tuesday.

All five originally were invited to testify Wednesday.

"Mr. Knoblauch and Mr. Pettitte answered all the Committee's questions and their testimony at the hearing is not needed," Davis and committee chairman Henry Waxman said in a statement. "Mr. Clemens and Mr. McNamee have also cooperated with the Committee in its investigation."

Following Pettitte's deposition, his lawyers asked the committee to excuse him from the hearing, a person familiar with the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations weren't made public.

Pettitte's request to be excused was first reported by The New York Times on its Web site.

Pettitte's attorney, Jay Reisinger, declined to comment after the announcement, while a lawyer for Radomski did not immediately return a phone message left at his office Monday night.

"I'm not disappointed," said Knoblauch's attorney, Diana Marshall. "I know Chuck is not disappointed."

The new witness is Charles Scheeler, a partner with Mitchell's law firm, DLA Piper. According to the firm's Web site, Scheeler mainly works in commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense.

Asked about Scheeler's addition, Hardin said: "It's interesting. I look forward to hearing what he has to say."

Clemens' camp disputes several elements of the Mitchell Report's sections about him. Clemens said he repeated under oath during his closed-door deposition what he previously had said in various settings publicly: "I've never used steroids or growth hormone."

If the committee believes Clemens or McNamee made false statements under oath, it could ask the Justice Department to open an investigation. This is the same House panel that -- after the Mitchell Report came out -- asked Justice to look into whether 2002 AL MVP Miguel Tejada lied when he told committee investigators in 2005 that he never took performance enhancers and had no knowledge of other players using or talking about steroids. The FBI's field office in Washington is handling that inquiry.

"We've always known that one of the potential possibilities, one of the possible results of Roger testifying differently than the Mitchell Report, could be a criminal referral," Hardin said Monday, before the witness list was changed. "That's an option the committee's always had."

McNamee, for his part, arrived for his deposition with color photos of what his side says is evidence -- and what Clemens' lawyers have called "manufactured" -- that was turned over to the Justice Department last month. McNamee's lawyers say the items include used needles saved for several years and that, when tested, they will prove Clemens used performance-enhancing ****s.

While McNamee has been quiet, not speaking a word to reporters after his deposition, Clemens has been crisscrossing Capitol Hill, speaking with nearly half of the members of the committee on a two-day tour last week. The 45-year-old pitcher planned to meet with more lawmakers Tuesday, the day before he testifies under oath at the hearing.

Pettitte was supposed to be there Wednesday, too. Now the left-hander is free to get ready to head to spring training. Yankees pitchers and catchers are to report Thursday.

"Every witness should make the decision that's best for them," Hardin said Monday night. "Roger plans to be there and to answer every question fully and truthfully. Whatever anybody else did, that's their deal."