Jury Verdict in Roger Clemens Perjury Case: Not Guilty
Roger Clemens in 2007.
Daniel M. Silva
Shutterstock.com
More than two months after jury selection began, a verdict has been reached in the perjury trial of baseball great Roger Clemens.
Accused of lying when he told a congressional committee in 2008 that he had never used steroids or human growth hormone, the former star pitcher for the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros has been found innocent on all six of the counts he faced by a federal jury in Washington, D.C., the Associated Press reports in a breaking news brief.
The Houston Chronicle’s Trial of Roger Clemens blog, Sports Illustrated’s Tracking Blog, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) and Washington Post also have stories.
Clemens had faced likely jail time and a maximum sentence of 30 years if he had been convicted on all six felony counts. They included obstructing Congress, two perjury counts and three counts of making false statements.
In a case that relied on testimony, jurors obviously were not persuaded by the government’s star witness, former Clemens trainer Brian McNamee, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports.
Defense attorney Rusty Hardin, who represented Clemens, repeatedly said Congress had overstepped its role in pursuing the matter, the newspaper notes.
“What happened in this case is a horrible, horrible overreach of the government and everyone involved,” Hardin said.
Additional and related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “After Mitchell Report, Shame, Blame … and Reform?”
ABAJournal.com: “DLA Piper Ordered to Turn Over MLB Material to Roger Clemens Despite Asserted Work Product Privilege”
ABAJournal.com: “Roger Clemens Retrial Starts Today; Chain of Custody May Be an Issue”
Updated at 6:17 p.m. to clarify headline.
