Contradictions, but no clarity

WASHINGTON -- One congressman suggested that a key eyewitness to baseball's steroid era was a drug dealer. Another fell just short of calling Roger Clemens, one of baseball's greatest pitchers, a liar.

Yet after more than 4 1/2 hours of often-heated testimony Wednesday that left no one untainted, there appeared to be little clarity on the key question of whether Clemens used steroids and human growth hormone during his remarkable 24-year career.

If members of Congress were hoping for a "Law & Order" moment in which the accused blurts out the truth under oath, they didn't get it.

"It's impossible to believe this is a simple misunderstanding," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "Someone isn't telling the truth."

Clemens didn't hesitate to get to the point in his opening statement in a packed House hearing room.

"I've never taken steroids or HGH," he said. And in a broadside aimed at Brian McNamee, his former trainer-turned-chief accuser, he added:

"I had no idea that this man would exploit the trust I gave him to try to save his skin by making up lies that have devastated me and my family."

McNamee, a former New York City police officer turned personal trainer and nutrition specialist, was equally forceful:

"When I told Sen. Mitchell that I injected Roger Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, I told the truth. I told the truth about steroids and human growth hormone. I injected those drugs into the body of Roger Clemens at his direction."

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Clemens and McNamee, by all accounts once good friends, sat only a few feet apart but rarely glanced at one another. Seated between them was a third witness, Charles Scheeler, a lawyer who helped compile the report on drug use in baseball headed by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.

McNamee had told Mitchell for his report that he injected Clemens 16 to 21 times with steroids and human growth hormone between 1998 and 2001. He also claimed that Clemens' New York Yankees teammates Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch had taken HGH.

McNamee expanded on that Wednesday, saying he believed he might have injected Clemens and Knoblauch more often.

Throughout the long hearing, support for or against Clemens and McNamee appeared to break along party lines. In general, Democrats, including Waxman, sided with McNamee, while Republicans tended to favor Clemens.

Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., directed his sharpest questioning at McNamee, and called him a drug dealer. "That's your opinion," McNamee said.

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., noted McNamee's statements about illegal drug use by Knoblauch and Pettitte, both of which were part of the Mitchell Report, later proved to be true.

Why, Cummings asked Clemens, should people not believe McNamee's claims about Clemens' use of steroids and HGH?

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner said he thought Pettitte had misheard his comments, to which Cummings replied: "It's hard to believe you, sir. I hate to say that."

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Much of Tuesday's testimony centered on a conversation Clemens allegedly had with Pettitte, and a barbecue hosted in June 1998 by former American League MVP Jose Canseco in Miami.

Pettitte, who was excused from the hearing, told congressional investigators Clemens admitted to him as long as 10 years ago that he used human growth hormone. Pettitte told his wife, Laura, the same thing, and she repeated the story to investigators.

Pettitte said in a followup affidavit that he asked Clemens in 2005 what he would do if asked about drugs. Pettitte said Clemens responded by saying Pettitte misunderstood the 10-year-old chat. Rather, Pettitte said, Clemens told him he was talking about his wife's use of human growth hormone.

Clemens, who called Pettitte a close friend, said he was shocked to learn Pettitte had admitted to using illegal drugs.

Canseco's party appeared to be important because the subject of steroids came up, according to McNamee.

But supporters of Clemens said he didn't go the party, though his wife, Debbie; some of his children; and the family's nanny stayed at the Canseco house. McNamee insisted Clemens was at the party.

In addition, Clemens read a statement his wife contending McNamee touted HGH's benefit during a visit to the family's Houston home, then provided the drugs and she injected herself. McNamee said he gave her the shot at Clemens' direction.

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Inside the room were seats reserved for the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service. One of those agents was IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, a key participant in the criminal case against Barry Bonds. Baseball's home run king, himself a target of illegal drug use allegations, was indicted in November 2007 on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from testimony he gave to a federal grand jury in 2003.

If the Justice Department launches an investigation, investigators will likely want more information on the physical evidence McNamee has. That evidence includes gauze and syringes McNamee says will have Clemens' DNA and blood on it.

Mitchell's investigation was prompted by another hearing on steroids held by the same committee in the same room in March 2005. That hearing might be best remembered for Mark McGwire imfamously repeating, "I'm not here to talk about the past."

In a reference to that day, Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., cautioned Clemens and McNamee: "It's better not to talk about the past than to lie about the past."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.