Brian McNamee spoke about Roger Clemens' steroid use under government threat

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McNamee's team reveals threats in Clemens filing
Houston Chronicle, United States
McNamee's attorney, Richard Emery, on Thursday filed affidavits from Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Parrella, an attorney working on the baseball investigation, and another of McNamee's lawyers.

Emery is seeking a ruling that because of federal agents granted McNamee immunity and then required that he speak to Sen. George Mitchell's baseball investigators, Clemens cannot sue for McNamee defamation based on those statements.

"The coercion is palpable," Emery said Thursday. "The last thing Brian wanted to do was talk about Clemens in any forum."

He said his client was threatened with being charged with a steroids violation or lying if he didn't talk. Emery said he expects to win "because it is clear the government authorized, if not coerced, the statements." [...]

Parrella, a San Francisco prosecutor investigating steroid use and growth hormone use, said in his affidavit that he contacted McNamee, told him he was not a criminal target, gave him immunity and threatened him with perjury charges if he lied to agents or the Mitchell investigators.

"I told McNamee that speaking to the Mitchell Commission was part of his cooperation with the investigation in order to maintain his witness status," the prosecutor said.

Parrella said he told McNamee that the government immunity would cover what he said to the private baseball investigators. He said because federal agents participated in those interviews, McNamee could face a criminal charge of making false statements if he lied while talking to baseball investigators. [...]

Clemens attorney Lara Hollingsworth said the filing doesn't change their view of the case. She said there is nothing in the law that would make a private baseball investigation into a government proceeding.

"This just confirms that he was talking to a private individual — Mitchell — who was conducting a private investigation for a private client," Hollingsworth said Thursday. "I've never seen anything in the law that would extend immunity to a third party private conversation like this."

She questioned what government purpose could be served by compelling a witness to talk to a private party as in this case ...


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