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WASHINGTON, Washington, D.C.: Baseball legend Roger Clemens was found not guilty by a jury in his federal perjury trial last Monday. The jury found him not guilty of all six charges, including all 13 acts of obstruction that were alleged by the government.[1] The trial was referred to as a witch-hunt by Clemens’ defense team.[2]
Indicted in 2010, “The Rocket” was charged with three counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury, and one count of obstruction of Congress The obstruction charge stemmed from Clemens’ 2008 testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which was investigating the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sports.[2]
Clemens has denied ever using PEDs, despite testimony from his former trainer Brian McNamee. McNamee claims to have regularly injected Clemens in the buttocks with PEDs during his career.[2]
The verdict, issued June 18th, was handed down after approximately 10 hours of jury deliberation. Tried in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in front of Reggie Walton, the federal trial lasted nine weeks and featured heated testimony from all sides.[3]
