Report: Feds plan to indict Roger Clemens in steroid probe

Report: Feds plan to indict Roger Clemens

NEW YORK — The New York Times reported on its website Thursday that federal authorities have decided to indict Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The Times said it based its report on information from two people briefed on the matter and said an announcement is expected in the near future.

Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, testified under oath at a hearing before a House committee and contradicted each other about whether Clemens had used the banned substances.

The committee held the hearing in February 2008.

McNamee has told federal agents, baseball investigator George Mitchell and the committee that he injected Clemens more than a dozen times with steroids and human growth hormone from 1998-01.

Clemens has maintained that McNamee was lying.

Rusty Hardin, Clemens’ lead attorney said he was unaware of a pending indictment.

“We’ve heard nothing,” Hardin said by telephone from Houston, “so I can’t knowledgeably respond at all.”

Earl Ward, one of McNamee’s lawyers, said he, too, “had no indication something was coming.”