If Barry Bonds was able to get away from a guilty verdict on his steroids use, Roger Clemens may be facing a different situation. The home run king was only found guilty of obstruction of justice but the heart of the case which is lying about anabolic steroid and human growth hormone use was declared by the judge as mistrial.

The jury failed to decide unanimously on the other counts related to Bonds’ steroid use because of the credibility of the witnesses. Some legal experts already predicted that the prosecution will be facing a hard time proving Bonds really lied about his use of designer steroids. “Some jurors said the government provided neither sufficient evidence nor credible witnesses to prove Bonds knew that he had doped, leading to the deadlock on the three counts of making false statements,” said T.J. Quinn of ESPN.

Bonds had in his side the personal trainer who sacrificed for him up to the end of the trial. Greg Anderson, who refused to testify, was cited in contempt and held in custody during the duration of the trial. A legal strategy that was proven effective.

The Roger Clemens Case

The 7-time Cy Young pitcher is facing three counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of Congress. Clemens insisted to testify in a congressional investigation when his name was included in the list of baseball players who allegedly used anabolic steroids. “Let me be clear, I have never taken steroids or HGH,” Clemens told the committee. However, lawmakers believe that Clemens was lying thus the charges were filed against him.

Legal experts say that the testimonies of the two baseball legends greatly differ. Barry Bonds testified in a grand jury that he did not knowingly used anabolic steroids while Clemens categorically denied in front of Congress that he did not use steroids or HGH. “Clemens left no room for doubt in his testimony; he said he never used performance-enhancers, even without his knowledge, period,” said Quinn. It is more likely that Clemens will get harsher penalty than Bonds.

Ally and Enemy

Another factor that could lead to the conviction of Clemens is the testimony of his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee. From the very start of the investigation, McNamee has been the primary source of information that Clemens really used performance enhancing drugs. He is now the key witness of the prosecution. McNamee contends that he injected Clemens with steroids many times and provided the government with significant evidences like used syringes and bloody gauze that were used on Clemens.

In Barry Bonds’ case, the key witness refused to testify. While other witnesses told the jury that they saw Anderson injected Bonds with something or Anderson confided to them the alleged steroid injections on Bonds, the jury still feels that it is not enough to convict Bonds on the charges.

Congress and Law Firm Still Refuse to Cooperate with Clemens

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the DLA Piper law firm, that led the investigation of PED use in the MLB, already told the court that they will not be able to provide Clemens camp with copies of transcript and testimonies of other witnesses during the investigation. The Congressional Committee insists that these documents were protected under the Speech and Debate Clause. They also raise the issue on the separation of the legislative and judiciary department. Meanwhile, the DLA Piper, which was commissioned by the MLB, argued that the subpoenaed documents were protected by client-attorney privilege.

However, the defense is determined to get these documents. In a filing last week, the defense said, “Mr. Clemens does not seek to use any of the materials against the Committee, its Members or its staff.” Their purpose is to pit two witnesses against each other in order to test the accuracy of one portion of a privately commissioned report according to the motion. “This case may be about a baseball player, but that is no reason for DLA Piper to treat it like a game,” wrote one of the lawyers of Clemens.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton set a hearing on April 21 to settle this issue. An initial date for the jury selection is scheduled on July 6.

Other Witnesses

Other witnesses that may be called when the trial starts are former teammate Andy Pettite, convicted steroid dealer Kirk Radomski, former Major Leaguer David Segui, and McNamee’s former wife.

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