On the eve of Roger Clemens' perjury trial, the federal judge overseeing the case said he might limit testimony from at least three former teammates who are expected to say that Clemens' former trainer injected them with performance-enhancing drugs.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said Tuesday in a brief hearing that some of the testimony from Chuck Knoblauch, Mike Stanton and Andy Pettitte could be "unduly prejudicial" to Clemens, who has emphatically denied using steroids and human growth hormone.
Federal prosecutor Steven Durham said the players' accounts are central to the government's case against the 48-year-old defendant to show that trainer Brian McNamee had knowledge about the banned substances and access to them during the time he alleges that he also injected Clemens. Durham said the testimony also was important to bolster McNamee's credibility, which defense attorneys said they would challenge vigorously.
Jury selection begins today, three years after federal prosecutors say Clemens lied to Congress when he denied using steroids and human growth hormone.
Clemens is charged with six criminal counts, including obstruction of Congress, related to his 2008 testimony to a House committee and congressional investigators during their review of performance-enhancing drug use in Major League Baseball.
McNamee, who says he injected Clemens numerous times with steroids and human growth hormone, is the government's star witness. Pettitte, meanwhile, is expected to provide crucial corroboration of McNamee's claims that Clemens used banned substances.
