MLB News: Roger Clemens to be indicted for perjury
Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times is reporting that former pitcher Roger Clemens will be indicted on charges of making false statements to Congress during his testimony about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The indictment comes nearly two and half years after Clemens and his former trainer Brian McNamee testified under oath at a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, directly contradicting each other about whether Clemens had used the banned substances.
The committee held the hearing in February 2008, just two months after McNamee first tied Clemens to the use of the substances in George J. Mitchell’s report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. After Mitchell released the report, Clemens launched an attack on McNamee, saying he made up the allegations.
I’ve long held the opinion that both Clemens and McNamee lied about their testimonies back in 2008. I don’t think we’ve heard the true story of Clemens’ involvement with performance-enhancing drugs, although sadly I don’t know if we ever will either.
Even though Clemens has been indicted, don’t expect a speedy trial. Barry Bonds was indicted in 2007 and his trial won’t start until next March. Thus, it could be years before Clemens goes to trial.
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