New Clemens trial, with same issues, to start

The moment of truth has arrived for Roger Clemens. Again.

The perjury trial of the former Yankees superstar restarts Monday, more than nine months after the government's first attempt to prove he lied to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs ended in a mistrial on the second day of testimony.

Just as another baseball season is getting under way, Clemens returns to federal court in Washington to face witnesses that include his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who says he injected the pitcher with steroids, and his former teammate and friend, Andy Pettitte, who says Clemens once told him about using human growth hormone.

If convicted of all the charges -- one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of false statements and two counts of perjury -- Clemens, 49, faces up to 21 months in jail.

Also on the line for Clemens is his baseball legacy. If he is found guilty, it will be forever stained by his association with one of baseball's darkest scandals.

Last summer's mistrial, declared by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton after prosecutors showed jurors a video that included banned testimony, gave both sides a sneak peak at each other's hand and, in turn, put them in position to better prepare for this second trial, legal experts said.

Prosecutors laid out their plans during their opening statement to prove that Clemens used steroids and human growth hormone to extend his career and then lied about it under oath during testimony before a House committee.

Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, in his opening statement, referred to Clemens as one of baseball's hardest-working players. But he focused much of his attention on McNamee, who he said was the government's only witness who claimed to have firsthand knowledge of Clemens' drug use, calling him a liar.

What remains to be seen some nine months later is how much, if at all, each side tweaks their strategies. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment, citing the judge's gag order, and Hardin didn't return a message.

The case's central figures, of course, remain the same.

McNamee, a former Yankees assistant strength coach who lives in Long Beach, has testified several times that he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens vehemently denies McNamee's account, which was first revealed as part of former Sen. George Mitchell's 2007 report on performance-enhancing drug use in baseball.

Clemens testified before Congress in 2008 that McNamee, his personal trainer from 1998 until 2007, injected him with only lidocaine, an anesthetic, and vitamin B-12. McNamee, who declined to comment for this story because of the gag order, has denied that under oath.

Clemens' defense, according to lawyers familiar with the case, once again is expected to focus primarily on McNamee's credibility.

"It's the classic strategy of making the witness the bad guy," said Anthony Sabino, a Mineola-based trial lawyer who teaches at St. John's University. "Rusty Hardin is going to call McNamee a liar, a cheat, a drug pusher, an opportunist and a guy who betrayed the trust of Clemens and the sanctity of the clubhouse. His job is to do everything he can to make McNamee crack."

Prosecutors also are expected to call Pettitte as a witness to discuss a conversation he says occurred in 1999 or 2000 in which he remembers Clemens telling him about using human growth hormone. Clemens says Pettitte's recollection of the conversation is wrong.

McNamee also revealed to the Mitchell Report that he injected Pettitte with human growth hormone, which Pettitte confirmed. Pettitte is attempting a comeback with the Yankees after retiring before the 2011 season.

Legal experts say the prosecutors now have a lot more on the line after last summer's mishap that led to the trial's premature end.

After the judge declared a mistrial, he openly questioned the intentions of U.S. attorneys Steve Durham and Dan Butler, saying they made a mistake "a first-year law student" wouldn't even make.

"They were sort of embarrassed by the way this played out," said Steve Bunnell, a Washington-based defense lawyer who used to supervise Durham and Butler in the U.S. attorney's office. "They'll be looking to re-establish their credibility with the judge and frankly, generally, just rehabilitate themselves a little bit. I think they'll feel pressure to be even more scrupulous than they normally would be."

The trial is expected to last six weeks.