Monday, August 30, 2010

Clemens pleads not guilty

Roger Clemens has pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress over alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens was indicted earlier this month and has been charged with three counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of Congress. The next court date for the embattled former pitcher is April 5. If convicted on all charges, Clemens could face up to 30 years in prison. Sentencing guidelines, however, call for about 15-21 months in jail.

In February 2008, Clemens testified before the House Committee on Oversight that he never took performance-enhancing drugs. However, Brian McNamee, Clemens' ex-trainer, testified to the contrary and has said repeatedly that he injected the seven-time Cy Young Award winner with steroids and human growth hormone from 1998-2001.

The hearings came several months after the release of the Mitchell Report, in which McNamee claimed he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH.

The 48-year-old Clemens, who has been out of baseball since 2007, has said the only thing McNamee ever injected into him was a pain-killer called lidocaine and the vitamin B-12.

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