Source: McNamee Told Congressional Lawyers He Injected Clemens’ Wife With HGH
NEW YORK _ Brian McNamee told congressional lawyers during his deposition Thursday that he injected Roger Clemens’ wife, Debbie, with human growth hormone (HGH) in 2002 in the master bedroom of their Houston estate, according to a source with knowledge of McNamee’s testimony.
McNamee also testified that Roger Clemens pushed his wife to take HGH because it would be good for her career as a fitness guru. According to the source, McNamee said it took Clemens four days to convince her to take the drug, which is injected through the stomach, because Debbie Clemens was afraid of the effects.
Debbie Clemens took HGH, McNamee testified according to the source, to prepare for a Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoot in which she stood over her husband wearing a bikini.
Her Web site, www.debbieclemens.com, is peppered with fitness tips designed for women. Her opening message states: "The laws of life and fitness, as I call them, are to plan ahead, be practical and use common sense. Eat healthy; be dedicated to workout, recognizing life’s necessities that serve you well."
Roger Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, released a statement at 5:30 Friday afternoon, but did not directly address whether McNamee injected Debbie Clemens with HGH. He did, however, dispute Roger Clemens’ role.
"Now there can be no doubt what kind of person we are dealing with," Hardin said in the statement. "To say that Roger directed this kind of thing is a colossal lie."
Meanwhile, Clemens appeared on Capitol Hill on Friday for a second straight day to meet privately with congressmen.
On Thursday, McNamee’s lawyers displayed photographs of the syringes, dirty gauze pads, blood and vials of human growth hormone and steroids that they say McNamee kept from when he injected Clemens in 2000 and 2001.
McNamee turned over that evidence to the federal prosecutors Jan. 10 and discussed it with lawyers for Congress on Thursday in his deposition.
McNamee allegedly held the items for years in his basement inside a FedEx box. He turned them over to federal investigators three days after Clemens played a recorded telephone conversation between the two at a nationally televised news conference.
Richard Emery, one of McNamee’s lawyers, said Thursday that McNamee held the items for so long because he feared Clemens would attempt to harm him. McNamee also predicted a potential public discussion about steroids in baseball.
"If (McNamee) was going to get thrown under the bus by Roger, then he was going to take Roger along," Emery said.
Emery and Earl Ward, another lawyer for McNamee, said the primary reason the photos were released was because McNamee felt betrayed after Clemens last month played the recorded conversation and discussed McNamee’s ailing son publicly.
"You can tell the immediate sense of betrayal that Brian had," Emery said.
Emery later said McNamee thought Clemens could not be trusted. His lawyers alleged that McNamee was responsible for holding the vials of steroids and HGH, as well as for of the needles after they were used by Clemens and other Yankees.
Hardin called the allegations "trash and waste."
But McNamee’s legal team believes that the items will prove that Clemens was injected with steroids and human growth hormone.
Clemens spent Thursday and Friday meeting with legislators in Washington. He met with 12 members of Congress on Thursday and was scheduled to meet six members Friday.
Hardin said the purpose of the meetings was not to lobby congressional leaders to rally behind Clemens. "It is to let them know face-to-face what Roger has said publicly, that he did not take steroids and did not take human growth hormone," Hardin said.
Hardin indicated that Clemens would be willing to provide a DNA sample if the federal government asked for one. Clemens has not received that request.
McNamee, Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte and Long Island-based steroid distributor Kirk Radomski will appear before Congress next Wednesday.
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