At least Roger stuck to his story and didn't pull a "I'm not here to talk about the past" bit. If he is going down it will be in a ball of flames.
UPDATE: Clemens Nanny is NOT hot, I repeat, NOT HOT! http://www.click2houston.com/video/15297762/index.html
I agree with this POV, I think this hearing was a joke and a complete waste of time. First of all, there's no other MORE pressing issues for Congress to have a hearing on that generally entails in legislation to combat or fix the proposed issue. If Congress seriously wants to fix this problem then subpoena Commish Selig and ALL owners. Furthermore, IMO how is it ok for Congress to pass judgment on ethics violations when there are problems with this all the same in their house. Until Congress cleans up their house, I have little respect and deem little to no credibility with Congress persons calling for perspective ball players' scalps and demanding blood for their outrageousness. Hello! They were doing good or bad, happy or sad what it took to be a star or elongate their time of stardom. How can you fault the players when they were doing indirectly/directly what the baseball brass wanted, the owners wanted and yes, what the fans wanted? It was about money, and glory! It was about a resurgence in the interest of what used to be America's past time! Sending Bonds, or Clemens to prison fixes NOTHING! This is criminalizing and demonizing players for doing whatever it takes and took to be their best. BTW, if former president William Jefferson Clinton can get away not only with lying and committing perjury but on camera under oath then, don't waste the DOJ's time with meaningless prosecution of great sports players. They'll suffer enough with a hit to their reputation and tarnished legacy! Build it bigger, faster, stronger! That's the mantra a sports player gets ingrained in their head from high school athletics on ... So if there be any indictments, it's the system that created the environment. The players in this instance are doing what they're told like lambs being led to the slaughterhouse. The important thing to do is education of what these drugs can do and why they are NOT the answer to superior performance goals. Just my opinion for the record ...
MLB's not blameless by a longshot, but the MLBPA's negotiating stance was NONONONONO at every turn. They fought coke testing when Fay Vincent tried to implement it. MLB tried, not hard enough, but to say the didn't want steroid testing prior to 2001 is false. Don Fehr is still very much against blood testing of players, which MLB is interested in.
I was reading her interview with the congressmen and she said there was no party? That Canseco just gave them a tour of the house and they stayed over - left the next day. Now she's saying she was at the party but Roger wasn't? Oh well - I guess the show is over anyhow.
You all should read the phone transcript- I defy anyone to read this and think that McNamee was lying about Roger- he's just not that good of an actor. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3246465 Transcripts: McNamee tried to balance Clemens loyalty, pressure from feds By Mark Fainaru-Wada ESPN.com (Archive) Updated: February 14, 2008, 11:40 PM ET * Comment * Email * Print In the week leading up to the release of the Mitchell report, Brian McNamee scrambled to warn Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte they would soon be outed as drug cheats -- while at the same time portraying himself as a man who gave up the two Yankees greats only after federal investigators pressured him to cooperate with baseball's steroids probe. Transcripts of two conversations between McNamee and representatives for Clemens and Pettitte provide new context to the strange and contentious saga that has erupted since Clemens was named in the Mitchell report on Dec. 13. The transcripts show McNamee painting a picture of himself as a friend trying to help Clemens despite warnings from government officials and former Sen. George Mitchell's investigators not to talk to anyone before the steroids report is released They also demonstrate that Team Clemens became aware of McNamee's claims that he had cooperated with Mitchell a full week before the report's issue. And the transcripts show Clemens' representatives probing McNamee for the extent of the evidence that exists to tie the pitcher to performance-enhancing drugs -- asking about documents, cash payments and others who might be able to corroborate McNamee's story. [+] Enlarge Brian McNamee Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images In the days before the Mitchell Report was released in December, Brian McNamee, shown here testifying at Wednesday's congressional hearing, apparently tried to warn Roger Clemens that he would be implicated. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released the transcripts of the two conversations, along with 31 other exhibits, as part of its hearing to get to the bottom of Clemens' vehement denials that he used performance-enhancing drugs. In a Dec. 5 phone conversation between McNamee and Jim Murray, an employee of the agents who represent Clemens and Pettitte, McNamee begins by saying, "Well, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sick to my stomach. … I'm just trying to alert Roger and Andy that they're going to be in the Mitchell report." Murray, who taped the conversation, asks how McNamee knows this, and the personal trainer tells an abbreviated version of how he is tied to the steroid scandal, beginning with his association with former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski. Radomski recently pleaded guilty to steroid distribution charges and was sentenced to five years probation. During Wednesday's hearing, Clemens testified that he was not aware he would be named in the Mitchell report until it actually was issued Dec. 13 -- one week after McNamee and Murray spoke by phone. Clemens attorney Rusty Hardin said Thursday that Clemens was aware of what McNamee had told Murray and even listened to the recording on Dec. 9, but that there was no way to know if Mitchell was going to actually use the information in his report. Asked why Team Clemens didn't contact Mitchell after hearing about McNamee's allegations, Hardin said: "The whole thing was so adversarial at that time, it never occurred to us that Mitchell would have talked to me. Never occurred to me at the time to talk to George Mitchell and try to figure out what was in the report." In the conversation with Murray, McNamee describes being confronted by government officials tracking the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative case, including lead investigator Jeff Novitzky of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations unit and Matt Parrella, the assistant U.S. Attorney who has been the chief prosecutor in the probe. The personal trainer tells Murray that he initially denied that Clemens or Pettitte had anything to do with drugs but that he had to change his tune when Novitzky and Parrella suggested they knew he was lying and threatened him with jail. "They made statements that made me believe that they had information," McNamee says. In the conversation with Murray, McNamee does most of the talking, explaining how he had provided illegal drugs to both players. McNamee tells Murray that he ultimately had to cooperate with baseball's steroids probe because of pressure from the government, which was working with Mitchell. McNamee claims that Parrella -- whom he misidentified as "Adam Peralta" -- "looked me in the eye and he said, 'If you don't speak to Senator Mitchell, you're going to get locked up.'" The McNamee Transcripts Two of the transcripts released by the House Reform and Government Oversight Committee late Wednesday paint a picture of Brian McNamee's attempts to alert the people surrounding Roger Clemens that McNamee had implicated him in the Mitchell Report. A warning: The transcripts, which are reproduced in their entirety here, contain some coarse language. • McNamee-Murray | • McNamee-Investigators However, in testimony Wednesday before Congress, McNamee said he never had a deal with the government nor was he coerced to cooperate. Regardless of whether McNamee was pressured, the government tactic appears to reflect a slight departure from its previous approach to the BALCO case and its connected steroid probes. Though McNamee faced a possible distribution charge, the government appears ultimately to have used its power to get him to cooperate with the Mitchell probe -- a private investigation on behalf of a private entity, Major League Baseball. In a conversation one week later with investigators working on behalf of Clemens, McNamee railed against the government for its approach; he alleged his bank records had been turned over to Mitchell by the feds. "Well, that's interesting to us that they would use the arm of the federal government to fund a private investigation for Major League Baseball," one of the investigators, Billy Belk, tells McNamee. "That's what I'm raising hell about, but no one gives a s--- and they just want me to shut up," McNamee responds. Hardin, a former prosecutor, said Thursday he was troubled by the government's approach. "Why give immunity to a guy to give you information that is then required as part of a deal to give to a private organization," Hardin said. "That's just rife with potential misuses. … McNamee has admitted crimes. Why are you giving him a free ride to get information on people you're not going to charge with a crime, but simply to tarnish their reputation by a private investigation issuing a report?" A law enforcement source has told ESPN that McNamee was never granted immunity. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco did not return phone or e-mail messages seeking comment. Peter Keane, a professor at Golden Gate University Law School in San Francisco and a close follower of the BALCO case, said the government's role was unique but not unprecedented. He said it would be "alarming" if prosecutors were randomly meddling in a private enterprise and using police powers, but he believes the government is acting within its charge. [+] Enlarge Rusty Hardin Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Rusty Hardin, one of Roger Clemens' attorneys, finds it interesting that the government might have helped George Mitchell's private investigation. "Government does have a very real responsibility and role in terms of the health system of this country -- whether or not young people are looking at athletes as role models and fooling them will harm their health," Keane said. "So there's a synchronicity that comes with government joining with Mitchell, a private enterprise's inquiry, and pooling their resources in a common alliance." McNamee's conversation with the investigators for Team Clemens took place at the personal trainer's home one day before the release date of the Mitchell report, Dec. 13. The conversation was recorded by the investigators, and McNamee indicates he invited the men to meet with him. After Belk, a former Houston police officer, and McNamee, a former New York City cop, briefly discuss their time on the force, McNamee says to the two investigators: "So, let's -- what are you guys doing? What are you trying to accomplish? And the only thing I can tell you is: I'm trying to help." Early on in the conversation with Belk and fellow investigator Jim Yarbrough, McNamee recounts a meeting he says he had with Murray in 2004. McNamee says the meeting was designed to warn Murray about the government's interest in Radomski, who had been providing McNamee with performance-enhancing drugs. At the time of the meeting with Murray, BALCO investigators had obtained what were supposed to be confidential results of drug tests on major leaguers in 2003, and McNamee says he also cautioned Murray that Clemens could have a problem. "Brian, why did you feel that there might be a problem with Roger," asks one of Clemens' investigators. "Because Roger was taking steroids and if he -- if it stays in his system for a long enough period of time where he might have tested positive," McNamee responds. "And how do you know Roger was taking steroids?" From there, McNamee explains how he provided Clemens with various performance enhancers and also injected him with the drugs -- including, he says, once in the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse. McNamee states he had not told that to the government agents who interviewed him, and at various points he insists he is telling Clemens' people more than he told the feds. McNamee tells Clemens' investigators that the pitcher had some performance enhancers, which the trainer believed had been obtained from Jose Canseco in Florida, during the now hotly debated party that Clemens did or did not attend. McNamee says the pitcher provided him with a Ziploc bag full of steroids to dispose of, but he states he never told that to the federal agents. McNamee repeats his claims about government coercion, even going so far as to imply he had a figurative gun to his head. But when asked if he'd be comfortable with Clemens' people making that point, McNamee indicates he would not. [+] Enlarge Roger Clemens Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee clearly are at odds now, but McNamee apparently tried to minimize the damage his allegations in the Mitchell Report might do to Clemens and Andy Pettitte. At various points during the conversation, the investigators ask McNamee about the existence of additional information regarding Clemens and performance-enhancing drug use. They inquire about other people involved or documents. "Brian, in any of this, and during this whole time that this is taking place were there ever any records that the government could have gotten," one of the investigators asks McNamee. "In other words, did Roger ever give you a check that you went to a store and purchased this stuff or was there any Fed Ex packages delivered that could be traced back? Was there any kind of paper trail, documentation, on any of this stuff." "No," McNamee responds. "I don't know about Roger." The conversation appears to turn tense toward its end when the question of McNamee's credibility is raised. One of the investigators mentions a prior sexual assault allegation against the trainer, as well as prior public denials about giving steroids to ballplayers. "Is there anything in your background from a credibility standpoint that they're going to be able to use against you?" one of the investigators asks McNamee. McNamee clearly becomes wary, wondering who "they" would be. The investigator presses forward, but at the same time says the trainer sounds "to me like a very credible person." McNamee ultimately says, "I mean, the only people that are going to look to hurt my credibility are you guys." The investigators also attempt to gauge McNamee's insistence that the drug use actually occurred, as well as how he might respond if Clemens issues a vehement denial. "Is there any doubt in your mind that what you told us today is the truth?" Yarbrough asks McNamee. "Well, you guys made the trip here. I would hope to that that I would only tell the truth," McNamee responds. He adds, "You first said that Roger and Andy would love to talk to me, but they can't and you know why. Why would they want to talk to me if I could only -- they know I would only tell the truth. … "And Jim Murray would only know that I'm telling the truth. You know what my biggest problem is, 'telling the truth.' That's my biggest problem."
What? So Roger DID know he was going to be in the Mitchell report? At least Roger and President Bush have something in common, they both lied to Congress. DD
Where does the article say that? All players named in the report were contacted through their representatives prior to its release, if Mitchell is to be believed. The MLBPA instructed the players not to cooperate, and few did. A couple of them who spoke with Mitchell got their names stricken from the released version of the report.
Wait, so you are saying that the guys that went up and interviewed McNamee (Who are on Clemens payroll through his agents) did not tell Roger about the interview with McNamee? In testimony Roger says that he did not know Senator Mitchell wanted to talk to him.... Roger is so full of crap it is not even funny. DD
Well that conversation could be the final dagger for Clemens. And I love Hardin's response to McNamee warning Clemens about the Mitchell report. If were are to believe that Clemens did nothing wrong, then Hardin is the biggest idiot in the world for not thinking that for even a split second the information McNamee provided to investigators would be in the Mitchell report. To not even inquire is gross incompetence on his part. -Even though you could still argue that the government may have coerced McNamee into giving them a "big fish" even though Clemens may not have used steroids, just by the private investigators line of questioning (asking him about his credibility, asking him about a paper trail) it's hard not to believe that they knew full well Clemens used and we're trying to find a way discredit McNamee.
McNamee was letting people know ahead of time he talked to Mitchell about Clemens and Pettitte. He wasn't supposed to do that but he did. Word got to Clemens. That he sought out legal counsel in advance of that should not be surprising.
Well, it seems McNamee mentioned Andy to Roger's investigators, so Roger saying under oath that he had no idea about Andy until the report came out is looking suspect. McNamee is no saint, but it's funny how some of the stuff that the Republican congressmen were trying to nail him on were for being a "drug dealer," even though he was getting those drugs at the request of Roger, and for changing his story, even though he was changing it because he had previously tried to mitigate the damage to Roger and Andy. It's sad to see 2 houston Icons go through with this, but at this point, I don't know how some of you can think McNamee is completely lying about shooting up Roger and that Andy is "misremembering." They did it, accept it, you can still think this whole congressional thing is a charade and accept that Roger was cheating.
I heard this briefly today, but haven't read much about it yet. My understanding is that Roger, under oath, denied knowing he'd be in the Mitchell Report...but wasn't asked if he knew he MIGHT be named. That's what I heard them talking about this morning on the news.
I'm not hiding behind anything, DaDa. I'm not on trial here. Perjury charges are extremely fact-intensive. If what I heard this morning is true, that ain't perjury. I don't have a record of the testimony, so I don't know what he said specifically. But if the question was: "Did you know you'd be in the Mitchell Report." Then the answer he'd give would be "no." Particularly if he's coached by attorneys....I always tell my clients to answer "yes/no" questions with either a "yes" or a "no" when under oath. But if he said, "I knew nothing about any of this prior to the Mitchell Report...I had no idea it was even possible I'd be named" or something like that...he's screwed. That's perjury.
I think the public by and large has forgiven Pettite....but Clemens is really bringing this on himself. He's said it himself...there's no way to prove a negative. So even if he still didn't cheat, he could have just stayed relatively silent...deny the allegations and move on (kind of like what Lance Armstrong does everytime something is brought up about him). But Clemens going into full on attack mode probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do. Either that or just ask McNamee straight up to tell the truth in the phone converstation...I understand not wanting to tamper with a federal witness...but he didn't need to say..."you need to tell them I didn't use steroids." All he had to say was "YOU need to tell them the truth" ...that doesn't seem like it'd be tampering but then I'm no lawyer so I dunno.
No, what I'm saying is that the article you're responding to says this: Clemens attorney Rusty Hardin said Thursday that Clemens was aware of what McNamee had told Murray and even listened to the recording on Dec. 9, but that there was no way to know if Mitchell was going to actually use the information in his report. and you reply with this: What? So Roger DID know he was going to be in the Mitchell report? What we don't know is if Mitchell contacted camp Clemens to give him the opportinity to respond prior to release, like he did others who were named (and some who were named & then subsequently removed) in the report.
