Clemens Pitches Innocence to Congress

Yesterday, Roger Clemens played the game of his life when he testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about whether the he was injected with steroids and human growth hormone by his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee.

The men traded contradictory stories under oath, which left many confused as to who was telling the truth.

The hearing stems form the 400-page Mitchell Report, which contained the first public airing of McNamee’s allegations about Clemens, as well as several other players. In the report, McNamee told baseball investigator George Mitchell he injected Clemens 16 to 21 times with performance-enhancing drugs from 1998 to 2001.

Although the outcome was unclear yesterday, several congressmen said a referral from the committee isn’t needed to trigger a Justice Department inquiry if prosecutors believe either man made false statements.

Which is why IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, a key member of the team prosecuting Barry Bonds, was also present during the hearing. Bonds was indicted in November on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from his 2003 testimony to a grand jury in which he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

Last month, Novitzky collected used needles and bloody gauze pads from McNamee, which will be tested for DNA.

Clemens continues to deny using steroids or HGH. Not only is his reputation and Hall of Fame candidacy potentially at stake, but he also faces the possibility of criminal charges if it’s found that he lied under oath. Clemens has earned 354 major league wins, seven Cy Young Awards, and $160 million.

Both Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch, former teammates of Clemens, admit that McNamee was correct when he said they used performance enhancers. Both were excused from testifying, but Pettitte gave the committee a sworn affidavit in which he told the committee Clemens said nearly 10 years ago that he used HGH.

Clemens’ wife, Debbie, was also implicated for her own HGH use, according to statements by Pettitte. Clemens testified his wife took HGH once, although according to the transcript of last week’s sworn deposition, Clemens told committee lawyers he didn’t know of family members taking HGH.