Clemens perjury trial slogs toward finish line

[June 09, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he hopes to get the Roger Clemens perjury trial to the jury by Tuesday, although that could prove overly optimistic given the pace of the trial so far.

The defense plans to wrap up its case Monday morning, and the government will call rebuttal witnesses, which could take about a half day. Walton said he expects to get to closing arguments Tuesday and then send the case to jurors.

On Friday, which concluded the eighth week of the trial, Clemens' wife, Debbie, testified that Roger Clemens was not present when she received a shot of human growth hormone from his strength coach. That contradicted a portion of the testimony from the coach, Brian McNamee, who is the former pitching star's chief accuser in the case.

McNamee testified last month that not only was Clemens present, he had summoned McNamee to the couple's master bathroom in Houston to give Debbie Clemens the drug.

McNamee said she looked at her husband and said, "I can't believe you're going to let him do this to me," and Roger Clemens responded, "He injects me. Why can't he inject you?"

McNamee is the only person to give firsthand testimony that Roger Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs during his baseball career.

On cross-examination by the prosecution, Debbie Clemens said of her husband's view of HGH, "I don't think he thought it was bad." She added, "It wasn't like doing heroin."

Clemens is charged with lying to Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Among more than a dozen false statements he's alleged to have made are that he never used HGH and that McNamee injected his wife without Roger Clemens' prior knowledge or approval.

Friday's session at times felt like an episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," as the jury was shown pictures of the palatial master bedroom in Clemens' home and a bathroom that Debbie Clemens said was as big as a kitchen. She said the property has seven bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, counting the pool house.

Walton, who allows jurors to ask questions that he deems appropriate, relayed one from a juror who wanted to know if Debbie Clemens would take HGH now.

"I might. I don't yet. I don't know that I'm old enough yet, but this is aging me," she replied with a laugh.

Debbie Clemens never cracked on the stand, but her tone occasionally got testy. At one point, she sighed deeply, like someone who's having a bad day.

Before defense lawyer Rusty Hardin began his questioning, he said, "It's almost over."

"Praise God," she replied.

[Associated Press; By FREDERIC J. FROMMER]

AP Sports Writer Joseph White contributed to this report.

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