The Roger Clemens Trial: Jury Begins Deliberation

The jury that had to listen to 26 days of testimony by some 46 witnesses met for 15 minutes on Tuesday evening before being excused for the day at 5 p.m. The group then reconvened Wednesday and, after not reaching a verdict, was released until Monday due to a long-scheduled business trip on the part of Judge Reggie Walton.

Clemens is on trial for perjury, making false statements and obstructing Congress when he testified at a hearing in February 2008. The charges center on his repeated denials that he used steroids and human growth hormone.

The case against him has not been easy for prosecutors, relying principally on one witness with lots of personal baggage. The physical evidence in existence sat in a beer car for years and is thus less than perfect. Brian McNamee is the only person who has testified claiming firsthand knowledge of Clemens’ drug use, saying he injected the pitcher in 1998, 2000 and 2001 with steroids and HGH. McNamee saved the needle and other medical waste in a Miller Lite can and stored it inside a FedEx box for safekeeping. Some of the waste was found to have Clemens’ DNA on it.

The defense strategy has been to discredit McNamee, a theme his attorney’s hammered home during closing arguments. McNamee made things easier by admitting that detail of his story have changed over the years, but remained firm that he is telling the truth. Laughing at the notion of McNamee’s honesty, Rusty Hardin, the lead defense attorney, said that “Saying that Brian McNamee lies zero times is kind of like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch.”

In their closing arguments prosecutors admitted that McNamee was a flawed man. “We’re not asking you to even like him. Brian McNamee did a lot of things that aren’t nice, and we know that.” The government emphasized that despite his personal failings he had no reason to orchestrate a massive lie against someone he always considered a close friend.

As the trial wrapped up jurors were given a complicated verdict sheet that includes 13 Clemens statements that supposedly obstructed Congress. One in particular, about whether Clemens spent time at Jose Canseco’s party, irked Hardin. “This is outrageous!” yelled Hardin, as he pounded the podium three times. The defense did not hold back in ridiculing the importance of what they claim is a simple discrepancy surrounding his attendance at a pool party.  A verdict is expected this week.

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Read: “Roger Clemens perjury trial comes to a close as prosecution emphasizes Cy Young award winner hardly a victim,” by Nathaniel Vinton, published at NYDailyNews.com.

Earlier:

The Roger Clemens Trial: The defense begins

The Roger Clemens Trial: McNamee’s soon-to-be ex weights in