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During the “60 Minutes” segment, Clemens said he might be willing to take a lie-detector test and was “shocked” Pettitte used HGH. He said — again — that he probably will retire.
A fiery look in his eyes and stubble on his face, Clemens told CBS’s Mike Wallace that he would have spoken with Mitchell had he been aware of McNamee’s accusations.
“I thought it was an impassioned, disingenuous and desperate plea,” said Earl Ward, McNamee’s primary lawyer.
One of the few revelations in the much-hyped interview came when Clemens was asked whether he conceivably would take a lie detector test.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I don’t know if they’re good or bad.”
A congressional hearing will be next week. Pettitte, former Yankees teammate Chuck Knoblauch and former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, who allegedly supplied McNamee with performance-enhancing drugs, also were asked to appear before the committee.
Lawyers for Clemens and McNamee have said their clients are willing to testify but Hardin wouldn’t commit to the date.
Emery said he wanted to hear testimony from Clemens.
“If Congress calls him, he pretty much has to take the Fifth, and if he takes the Fifth, nobody will ever believe him again and all this effort has gone down the drain,” Emery said. “And if he doesn’t take the Fifth, it’s very hard to imagine that a prosecutor isn’t going to pursue this. So I think he’s put himself in a terrible corner.”
Clemens said his lawyer advised him not to speak with Mitchell, who spent 20 months on his investigation.
“If I would’ve known what this man, what Brian McNamee (had) said in this report, I would have been down there in a heartbeat to take care of it,” Clemens said.
Only two active players, Jason Giambi and Frank Thomas, spoke with Mitchell, a Boston Red Sox director and a former Senate majority leader.
In excerpts of the CBS interview that were released Thursday, Clemens said McNamee injected him with vitamin B-12 and the painkiller lidocaine. In the full 14-minute broadcast, Clemens also said he was given an injection of toradol under the supervision of the New York Yankees.
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McNamee told Mitchell he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH about 16 to 21 times during 1998, 2000 and 2001 — before baseball players and owners agreed to ban performance-enhancing substances.
Eighth on the career list with 354 wins, the 45-year-old Clemens said he was angered McNamee’s accusations have been accepted as truth by some.
“It’s hogwash for people to even assume this,” Clemens said. “Twenty-four, 25 years, Mike. You’d think I’d get an inch of respect. An inch.”
Clemens said the descriptions McNamee gave Mitchell of injections “never happened.”
“If I have these needles and these steroids and all these drugs, where did I get ’em?” he said. “Where is the person out there (who) gave ’em to me? Please, please come forward.”
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