The case against Roger Clemens

ROUND 2:

THE CASE AGAINST

ROGER CLEMENS

U.S. District Court, Washington, D.C.

The charges:

Count 1: Obstruction of Congress

Counts 2-4: False Statements

Counts 5-6: Perjury

What's at stake:

Clemens faces 15-to-21 months in prison if convicted of all the charges

Why is there another trial?

The government's first attempt at prosecuting Clemens last summer for allegedly lying under oath ended in a mistrial on the second day of testimony. U.S. District judge Reggie Walton stopped the proceedings after prosecutors showed jurors a video that included testimony by Andy Pettitte's wife, Laura. That testimony had been ruled inadmissible prior to the trial. Clemens' attorneys lobbied to dismiss the case altogether on the basis of double jeopardy, the constitutional right that prohibits courts from prosecuting individuals more than once for the same crime. But Walton ruled there was not enough evidence to show that prosecutors intentionally goaded the defense into asking for a mistrial, as Clemens' attorneys had argued.

The trial's key characters:

ROGER CLEMENS, DEFENDANT

The former Yankees pitcher who amassed 354 victories and seven Cy Young awards during a 24-year major-league career is accused of knowingly lying under oath when he told a congressional hearing in February 2008 that he never used steroids or human growth hormone.

A hard-throwing righthander, Clemens also pitched for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros during a career that lasted until he was 45 years old. He came out of retirement on three occasions, most recently midway through the 2007 season to rejoin the Yankees.

BRIAN MCNAMEE, STAR GOVERNMENT WITNESSMcNamee, Clemens' longtime personal trainer, testified before a congressional hearing in February 2008 that he injected the pitcher with performance-enhancing drugs multiple times in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

A graduate of Archbishop Molloy High School and St. John's University, McNamee spent more than a decade in Major League Baseball, working for the Yankees and Blue Jays and serving as a personal trainer to several ballplayers, most notably Clemens and Pettitte. Currently a resident of Long Beach, McNamee is employed as the general manager of baseball operations for Long Island Sports Complex in Freeport.

ANDY PETTITTE, STAR GOVERNMENT WITNESS

Pettitte, Clemens' longtime friend, submitted a signed affidavit to Congress in 2008 stating that Clemens told him in 1999 or 2000 that he had taken human growth hormone. Clemens has a different recollection of that conversation, saying he told Pettitte that his wife used HGH, not him. Pettitte and Clemens, who both live in the greater Houston area, were teammates with the Yankees from 1999-2003 and 2007 and with the Houston Astros from 2004-06. Pettitte is currently attempting a comeback with the Yankees after sitting out the 2011 season.

RUSTY HARDIN, LEAD DEFENSE ATTORNEY

The Houston-based Hardin has been a favorite of Texas pro athletes with legal issues, having represented former Houston Rockets Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy and former Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon among others. He's been Clemens' attorney since the release of The Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball -- more commonly known as the Mitchell Report -- in late 2007.

STEVEN DURHAM, ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY

One of four prosecutors assigned to the case, Durham's profile has risen considerably after he accepted the blame for playing the video that led the judge to declare a mistrial last summer. Clemens' defense team accused him of making the mistake on purpose because he didn't like how the case was going.

REGGIE WALTON, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

Walton has experience with high-profile perjury cases, having presided over the 2007 trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff of former Vice President Dick Cheney. After a jury convicted Libby on charges of perjury, making false statements to federal investigators and obstruction of justice, Walton sentenced Libby to 30 months in jail.

Timeline

The steps leading up to Roger Clemens going on trial this week for allegedly lying to Congress four years ago about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

February 1998 : As the Toronto Blue Jays' new strength and conditioning coach, Brian McNamee is introduced to Blue Jays pitcher Roger Clemens.

June 1998: Clemens asks McNamee for the first time to inject him with steroids, according to McNamee's January 2008 deposition to congressional investigators. It is allegedly the first of several steroid injections this season.

February 1999: Clemens is traded to the Yankees. McNamee remains under contract with the Blue Jays.

February 2000: Clemens and McNamee are reunited after Clemens successfully lobbied the Yankees front office to hire McNamee as assistant strength coach. Clemens agreed to pay McNamee's salary.

Summer 2000: McNamee injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone throughout the second half of the baseball season, he told congressional investigators.

August 2001: McNamee injected Clemens with steroids, he told congressional investigators.

May 2007: McNamee is contacted by IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky to discuss personal checks McNamee wrote to Kirk Radomski, a former Mets clubhouse attendant who had just been convicted of illegally dealing performance-enhancing drugs.

July 13, 2007: Faced with the threat of prosecution, McNamee agrees to meet with Novitzky. He is offered immunity from potential distribution charges as long as he tells the truth. Also present is former Maine Sen. George Mitchell, who was commissioned by MLB to investigate its performance-enhancing drug problem.

Dec. 13, 2007: The Mitchell Report is released, making public for the first time McNamee's assertion that he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

Dec. 18, 2007: Clemens breaks his silence, saying, "I did not take steroids, human growth hormone or any other banned substances at any time in my baseball career or, in fact, my entire life."

Jan. 4, 2008: McNamee and Clemens speak by phone for first time since release of Mitchell Report, in a story first reported by Newsday. Clemens' lawyers secretly tape the call and later air it at a news conference.

Jan. 6, 2008: Clemens goes on the offensive, appearing on "60 Minutes" and calling McNamee's assertions "ridiculous." He said McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12.

Feb. 13, 2008: Sitting just a few feet apart from one another, Clemens and McNamee tell their conflicting stories under oath before a congressional hearing. It also is revealed that Andy Pettitte said in an affidavit that Clemens once told him about his own use of performance-enhancing drugs, which Clemens denies.

Feb. 27, 2008: The ranking members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform formally ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether Clemens committed perjury under oath when he denied any use of illegal drugs.

Aug: 19, 2010: A federal grand jury indicts Clemens on charges that he lied about his use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs before Congress.

July 13, 2011: Opening statements are made in Clemens' perjury trial.

July 14, 2011: The judge declares a mistrial after prosecutors aired a video that included banned testimony.