Legal News

Roger Clemens, ?Just Sort of a Gosh-Darn Kind of Guy?

By Dan Slater

Roger Clemens has put himself in a position where his legacy as the greatest pitcher in baseball will depend less on his E.R.A. and more on his D.N.A.
– Earl Ward, lawyer for Brian McNamee

He is constantly lying. I warn you all now, five to six to seven months from now, any of you who have jumped on the bandwagon that Roger took steroids and assumed anything Brian McNamee had to say will be embarassed.
– Rusty Hardin, lawyer for Roger Clemens

Zip! Bang! Pow! The above are a sampling of the theatrics that surrounded two meetings in Congress yesterday. Brian McNamee, who alleges he injected Roger Clemens with steroids in 2000 and 2001, gave an 8-hour deposition in the Rayburn House Office Building, at which he unveiled two photographs of his evidence.

The first, according to this NYT report, depicted a crushed Miller Lite can stuffed with needles, some gauze and cotton balls, and a single hypodermic needle. The second showed unused steroids and needles.

“In the cheapest, most mean-spirited stunt, he has made up a bunch of evidence,” said Lanny Breuer, Clemens’s other lawyer, at a press conference.

Down the hall, Clemens — who was introduced by Ted Poe, a Republican representative from Texas — pitched his story to a separate committee, a move that the Times says amounts to a “goodwill tour.” Looks like it did some good. One of those committee members, the California Republican Brian Bilbray, later told the Times of Clemens: “Just sort of a gosh-darn kind of guy. Just the kind of guy you’d probably want to have as a next-door neighbor, I guess, if he didn’t hit a baseball through your window.

Next Wednesday, both McNamee and Clemens will officially testify before a full Congressional commitee, along with Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch and Kirk Radominski.

OK, Law Blog loyals, here’s the $64,000 question: McNamee’s main challenge right now will be explaining, first, why McNamee saved the steroid paraphernalia, and, second, why he didn’t reveal it to federal authorities or to George Mitchell. Does McNamee’s lawyer have a way out of this box?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 08, 2008 (boomark / email).