Roger Clemens’ former personal trainer cooperated with investigators looking into steroids in baseball under threat of prosecution, an assistant U.S. attorney said in a court filing Thursday.
In a declaration filed in federal court in Houston as part of Clemens’ defamation lawsuit against Brian McNamee, assistant U.S. attorney Matthew Parrella said he told McNamee he was not a target of the investigation but could become one if he failed to cooperate.
If McNamee made any false statements to federal investigators or to Mitchell, Parrella said, he could face prosecution.
McNamee told Mitchell’s investigators that Clemens had used steroids and human growth hormone before they were banned by baseball.
Also filed Thursday were declarations from attorney Charles Scheeler, who worked with Mitchell, and Earl Ward, an attorney for McNamee. Both supported McNamee’s claim that he faced prosecution if he did not help investigators.
re than a dozen times with steroids and HGH in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens repeatedly has denied using performance-enhancing drugs.
McNamee’s lawyers have argued that because he did not volunteer information about Clemens but was “coerced” into giving it under threat of prosecution, he is “immune from any defamation.”
Clemens’ attorneys did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press.
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