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Mitchell defends steroid allegations vs. Clemens

BY KEN DAVIDOFF | ken.davidoff@newsday.com

January 16, 2008

WASHINGTON - For weeks, Roger Clemens has been delivering a relentless attack upon the Mitchell Report, repeatedly denying the assertions of former Sen. George Mitchell that he used steroids and human growth hormone.

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, Mitchell showed he hasn't been impacted in the least by Clemens' public-relations campaign.

At a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Mitchell reiterated his belief that Brian McNamee, Clemens' former personal trainer and the Yankees' assistant strength coach, spoke truthfully when he said he injected Clemens with illegal performance-enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens and MacNamee are scheduled to appear in front of the committee on Feb. 13.

"Mr. McNamee had an overwhelming incentive to tell the truth," said Mitchell, who added that the Yankees' Andy Pettitte had corroborated McNamee's testimony about him. "We believe that the statements provided to us were truthful."

And in a bombshell development tangentially related to Clemens' case, the committee announced that it asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada lied in an August 2005 interview. That interview resulted from ex-Oriole teammate Rafael Palmeiro's claim at the time that his positive test for Winstrol must have come from a B-12 shot provided by Tejada. Palmeiro's March 17, 2005, testimony to the committee that he had never used performance-enhancing drugs was the subject of a perjury investigation later.

In that Aug. 26, 2005, meeting with the committee, Tejada - who was not under oath but was advised that knowingly false material statements could be prosecuted - said that he had never used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

"We do not presume that Mr. Tejada lied to the committee," committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ranking Minority Member Tom Davis (R-Va.) wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey. "But we do believe that this is a serious enough issue to warrant further examination by the Justice Department."

The Astros acquired Tejada in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles last month.

The timing of the committee announcement, if nothing else, reminds Clemens, McNamee and their fellow Feb. 13 panelists Pettitte and former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch that they would face serious consequences for not being honest.

"We're sending a message to anybody who comes to our committee that they have an obligation to answer questions truthfully," Waxman said on the conclusion of the hearing. "I think that's an important message. The integrity of the congressional system is at stake."

Clemens' name didn't surface until late in the day's opening session, but District of Columbia Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, whom Mitchell had greeted warmly upon entering the room, made sure to press Mitchell on the reliability of McNamee. While Norton didn't mention any specific reasons for her concern, Clemens and his attorney, Rusty Hardin, have attempted to discredit McNamee publicly since the Dec. 13 release of the report.

Mitchell didn't back down, reiterating that McNamee faced a prison sentence if he wasn't truthful with the federal investigators who questioned him.

Hardin said in a statement: "We have had no criticism of the Mitchell Report, only what it contains concerning Roger Clemens. Senator Mitchell's testimony today shed no new light on this issue. Roger continues to adamantly deny that he ever used steroids or human growth hormone. He will do so again under oath before the House Committee, giving the public the opportunity to judge his credibility."

What's next for Roger Clemens

Before Feb. 13. Will be deposed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He will be under oath as he answers questions concerning his contention that he didn't use illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Feb. 13. Clemens will testify at the committee's hearing. His accuser, Brian McNamee, his longtime teammate and friend Andy Pettitte, former Yankees teammate Chuck Knoblauch, and Kirk Radomski, who allegedly supplied McNamee with illegal performance-enhancing drugs, also are scheduled to participate.