Jan 22 2009
McNamee, Clemen’s Former Trainer Meets with Federal Prosecutors
The prosecutor trying to find an indictment of Roger Clemens had his first chance to question the former baseball star’s personal trainer, Brian McNamee, during a five-hour session last Friday.
McNamee admitted to federal agents, baseball investigator George Mitchell as well as a House of Representatives committee that he had injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone more than a dozen from 1998 until 2001.
However, this is McNamee’s initial meeting with Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Butler who is presenting evidence to the federal grand jury to determine whether Clemens should be charged with lying to Congress when he denied the using performance enhancing drugs.
McNamee only shook his head when asked if he would comment and did not speak to reporters when he arrived at the US Attorney’s office in Washington with his lawyers Richard emery and earl Ward last Friday.
While they were travelling back to New York, Ward said on a phone interview that it all went well and that there might be no more additional meetings. He added that the investigators told them that they will get in touch with them.
Before that, and only blocks away, former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, convicted steroids dealer who led the fed to McNamee, appeared at the federal courthouse where the grand jury examining Clemen’s care were meeting twice a week.
Radomski and McNamee are considered to be among Butler’s primary witnesses in the case against Clemens.
Aside from lead prosecutor Butler, Friday’s meeting included top fraud and corruption prosecutor in his office as well as federal investigators. Federal agent Jeff Novitzki, who is the center of the BALCO and Barry Bonds cases also participated via telephone.
Clemen’s lawyers would not describe the questioning. Emery stated that the substance of the discussion is that they were well prepared. He further added that the investigators are pursuing lines of investigation that are exceedingly probative and will be very useful in this investigation. He respects them for doing one heck of a job.
McNamee’s lawyers still haven’t told when their client, a former NY police officer will speak to the grand jury.
According to Emery, their witness has cooperated from the beginning of the investigation and he was also very thorough and well-prepared. He further added that Brian takes his responsibility as a witness very seriously.
McNamee has turned over syringes, vials and other items his lawyers think will link them Clemens to drug use to government agents. Clemen’s camp said that this is “manufactured” evidence.
Brian McNamee’s allegation that Clemens had been using illicit performance-enhancing drugs first came publicly in Mitchell’s 409 page report on doping in baseball. This implicated seven MVPs, 31 All-Stars and identified 85 players to varying degrees.
McNamee now repeated his account last year under oath to congressional investigators and at a public House hearing which was impelled by Clemen’s denial of what was in the Mitchell report. Clemens testified that he did not use performance enhancers.
The 354 game winner told Congress last February that he has never taken steroids or HGH.
Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch, two former teammates of Clemens both admitted to Congress that McNamee was right when he claimed that they used performance enhancers.
These sworn testimonies provided to Congress by McNamee and Clemens urged lawmakers to ask the Justice Department to investigate whether the former pitcher had lied. After an 11 month FBI investigation, the case was then brought before a grand jury.


































































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