Prosecutors seeking to convict Roger Clemens of obstructing the United States Congress and making false statements must prove he was injected with steroids, knew what was in the shots and knowingly lied about it, lawyers said.
And even then, according to published reports, prosecutors may not earn a conviction against the former pitcher.
Clemens, the seven-time winner of Major League Baseball's Cy Young Award, was indicted last week on charges that he lied to Congress in 2008 when he said Brian McNamee, his trainer, did not inject him with steroids and human growth hormone (HGH). McNamee told Congress and an inquiry by George Mitchell, a retired senator, that he did inject Clemens.
To secure a conviction, prosecutors must convince jurors that McNamee told the truth and Clemens knew he was lying to Congress with statements like: "Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids or HGH."
Prosecutors must show such statements were meant to mislead, said Robert Kheel, an attorney who teaches sports law at Columbia University.
But Clemens's greatest defence may lie in whether Congress should have been investigating the matter in the first place, according to a report in The New York Times.
The Mitchell report was released at the behest of Bud Selig, the baseball commissioner, and not Congress. And that, attorney Reginald J Brown told the newspaper, gives Clemens's lawyers a strong argument to have the government's perjury case dismissed.
Perjury charges can only be brought in connection with investigations conducted as part of those Congressional responsibilities outlined in the Constitution, The Times reported.
"The case against Clemens is not a slam dunk for the government," said Brown, a former special assistant to President George W Bush and an associate White House general counsel from 2003 to 2005.
"Congress didn't do this investigation to determine whether they needed new drug laws," Brown told the The Times. "They didn't do it to determine whether federal agencies were exercising their proper oversight. They did this to figure out whether Clemens or his trainer were telling the truth, and that is arguably not a legislative function. It's not Congress's job to hold perjury trials."
Brown said the argument had been used successfully before to have perjury charges dismissed.
Clemens, 48, faces one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury. While he faces as much as 30 years in prison, federal sentencing guidelines recommend 21 months, prosecutors said.
"I never took HGH or steroids," Clemens said on Twitter after the indictment. "And I did not lie to Congress. I look forward to challenging the government's accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trial. I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I am happy to finally have my day in court."
Anabolic steroids can be distributed in the US only with a doctor's prescription. Major League Baseball has banned their use without a prescription since 1971, and it banned HGH starting in 2005, according to the indictment.
The indictment of Clemens, who won 354 games from 1984 to 2007, follows perjury charges against Barry Bonds, the former San Francisco Giants slugger who is accused of lying about his steroid use. Bonds, who retired in 2007 as the career home run leader, is scheduled for trial in March.
Clemens and Bonds were among dozens of players cited for steroids in a report released by Mitchell in December 2007. Mitchell interviewed McNamee, a strength coach for the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees. Clemens played for the Blue Jays in 1997 and 1998, and with the Yankees from 1999 to 2003.
McNamee told Mitchell that he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001, and with HGH in 2000.
Clemens met with staff members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on February 5, 2008, denying he took performance-enhancing drugs, according to the indictment. He echoed those denials in public testimony eight days later.
Earl Ward, McNamee's attorney, said he gave the FBI the syringes and gauze pads that his client used with Clemens. He said McNamee kept the syringes in a box in his basement for several years and turned them over after Clemens attacked him.
Colleen Conry, a former federal prosecutor, said the case will hinge on the motive and credibility of witnesses against Clemens, and whether the government has corroborating evidence.
"The jury would expect and demand, 'Where is the forensic evidence, where is the DNA? Where is the needle'?" said Conry, adding that while some perjury trials turn on ambiguous statements, Clemens was clear in his testimony.
"In this case, Clemens says he understood exactly what was being charged in the Mitchell report and he didn't use steroids or hormone growth hormone," she said.
* The Washington Post, The New York Times
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
Wednesday, Lahore: Eliminator 2 – Karachi Kings v Winner of Eliminator 1
Sunday, Karachi: Final – Islamabad United v Winner of Eliminator 2
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
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