The Congressional committee that today referred Roger Clemens’ case to the Justice Department for a possible perjury investigation did so based on seven assertions outlined in a memo by Sen. Henry Waxman’s staff, the lawmaker said today.
Released at oversight.house.gov, the complete 19-page document details these assertions, and Waxman provided it as “additional background on today’s action.”
Here are the seven items, with the committee’s reasoning behind them.
1. That Clemens has never taken steroids or HGH.
The memo says Clemens’ claim that he never used steroids or human growth hormone is contradicted by the testimony of Brian McNamee; testimony and affidavits from Andy and Laura Pettitte; and medical records.
It says, depsite the fact McNamee “has a history of lying to investigators,” his testimony is “bolstered by the deposition testimony of Andrew Pettitte and the transcribed interview of Chuck Knoblauch …”
“There is little reason to believe that Mr. McNamee would provide truthful testimony about Mr. Pettitte and Mr. Knoblauch (using HGH), but false testimony about Mr. Clemens,” the memo says.
It also cites separate conversations Pettitte had with McNamee and Clemens about Clemens’ usage, and uses medical evidence from the Toronto Blue Jays to challenge Clemens’ claim that he developed a buttocks injury from taking shots of vitamin B-12, not of steroids or HGH.
“Assistant trainer Scott Shannon, in a career of almost 20 years, also said he had never seen a vitamin B-12 injection cause this kind of reaction,” the memo says.
Also, study of MRI exams of the buttocks injury were “more compatible” with steroid use, as opposed to vitamin B-12.
2. That Clemens was injected with Lidocaine.
Clemens says McNamee injected him with the pain reliever Lidocaine, in addition to vitamin B-12, not steroids and HGH.
The Blue Jays team doctor and head and assistant trainers “told the committee that the account provided by Mr. Clemens was implausible,” due to the severity and possible side effects of a Lidocaine injection. One said that a trainer like McNamee injecting someone with Lidocaine would be “malpractice.”
The memo also refers to a Lidocaine injection Clemens received while with the Astros in 2005.
“The circumstances of that injection contrast markedly with the injection Mr. Clemens says Mr. McNamee gave him,” in 1998, the memo says.
3. That Clemens was given pain injections by team trainers.
Clemens was asked, team by team for his four former teams, if their trainers had administered shots to him, and he answered in the affirmative for each team.
However, the memo says, “These statements by Mr. Clemens are contradicted by numerous team trainers and medical officials.”
Of his former teams, the Red Sox, Astros and Blue Jays all say that none of their trainers ever administered an injection of any kind to Clemens. The one exception was the Yankees, which allowed trainers to provide injections.
Longtime trainer Gene Monahan told the committee that he injected Clemens once, with “a light dose of Toradol,” a pain medication, over the pitcher’s six seasons with that team.
4. That Clemens received many vitamin B-12 injections.
Clemens claimed he had “at least 25, maybe 50” B-12 injections during his career, yet, the memo says, despite vitamin B-12 being a prescription medication, only one team referenced any B-12 injection for Clemens, which pertained to his 1998 buttocks injury.
Among the four teams, only one instance of a B-12 injection was confirmed.
5. That Clemens never discussed HGH with McNamee.
At the latest Congressional hearing on the matter, Clemens first said he never spoke of HGH with his trainer, yet later admitted to having two conversations with McNamee after Clemens’ wife, Debbie, used HGH and suffered some discomfort.
“Mr. Clemens testified that he had no conversations with Mr. McNamee about HGH in the same proceeding in which he later described two specific conversations with Mr. McNamee,” the memo says. “As a legal matter this may affect whether the statements meet the legal definition of perjury or false statement.
“There are evidence, however, that Mr. Clemens affirmatively sought to mislead the Committee.”
The memo highlights the fact Clemens says he did not call a doctor or investigate HGH after Debbie’s reaction, not an expected response to such a circumstance.
6. That Clemens was not at Jose Canseco’s house for a June 1998 party.
McNamee steadfastly claimed Clemens was at the party of Canseco, a Blue Jays teammate, where Clemens possibly discussed steroid use.
“Mr. Clemens was adamant about not being in Mr. Canseco’s home,” the memo says. “He said he was not at the team party eight times during his deposition.”
The memo says this claim was contradicted by an interview of Clemens’ nanny, who says Clemens was at Canseco’s home between the time period of June 8-10, 1998.
Clemens later contacted the nanny after not speaking to her since 2001, after the Committee asked for her contact information as a potential witness. She then said she never recalled “any party at the Canseco house while she was there.”
7. That Clemens was never told about Mitchell’s request to meet with him.
Clemens said in a “60 Minutes” interview that he was advised by council not to speak with George Mitchell as the former U.S. Senator prepared his report on performance-enhancing-drug use in baseball.
To the committee, “Mr. Clemens gave a different and contradictory explanation, stating at least six times under oath that he had no idea Senator Mitchell was seeking to interview him.”
Clemens said his agents never told him Mitchell sought to speak with him and agreed that omission would be a “terrible disservice.” Yet Clemens “did not terminate his relationship with his agents or take other steps to reprimand them,” the memo says.