McNamee: I Gave Clemens Steroids in '98

Chief accuser takes the stand in pitcher's perjury trial
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 14, 2012 3:21 PM CDT
McNamee: I Gave Clemens Steroids in '98
Roger Clemens arrives at federal court, Monday, May 14, 2012. Clemens' chief accuser is expected to testify Monday against the former pitcher, a make-or-break moment for the prosecution.   (Susan Walsh)

Brian McNamee has testified that he first injected Roger Clemens with steroids when they were with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998. McNamee said today he injected Clemens in the buttocks in Clemens' apartment at the pitcher's request. McNamee is the chief witness for the prosecution in the perjury trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner. He is the only person who will testify with firsthand knowledge of Clemens using performance-enhancing drugs.

McNamee, wearing a tan suit and speaking softly in a thick New York accent, says he saved items that he used while injecting Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, including gauze, tissues, syringes, cotton balls and needles. Prosecutors say they have evidence that some of the materials tested positive for the drugs as well as Clemens' DNA. Clemens' lawyers have said they will contend that the items saved by McNamee have been tainted because they were stored so haphazardly. They refer to the collection as a "hodgepodge of garbage." Clemens' team won a few small victories today, over how much of McNamee's checkered past it could present to jurors in an attempt to diminish his credibility. (More Roger Clemens stories.)

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