Pettitte meets with House committee
New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte spoke under oath for about 2½ hours Monday with lawyers from a congressional committee looking into drug use in baseball.
After the deposition, Pettitte did not take questions from reporters as he walked out of the offices of the U.S. House oversight and government reform committee in Washington, D.C. Wearing a pinstriped grey suit and bright striped tie, Pettitte was accompanied by his wife and at least one lawyer.
His interview is part of preparation for a Feb. 13 public hearing expected to focus on Roger Clemens's denials of allegations about his use of performance enhancers made in the Mitchell Report by former personal trainer Brian McNamee.
Clemens is scheduled to give a deposition to committee lawyers Tuesday, followed by McNamee on Thursday.
"At the committee's request, Andy Pettitte voluntarily met with representatives of the committee this morning, and fully answered all of the inquiries made of him in a sworn deposition," Pettitte's lawyers, Jay Reisinger and Thomas Farrell, said in a
statement.
"Out of respect for the sensitive nature of these proceedings, and out of deference to the committee's request for confidentiality, we, on behalf of Mr. Pettitte, will not comment on the nature or specifics of his testimony."
Pettitte lent credence to former Senate majority leader George Mitchell's findings by acknowledging he received two injections of human growth hormone from McNamee.
Now Congress was set to ask Pettitte what he knows.
A former Yankees teammate of Pettitte and Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, spoke to committee staff Friday. The day before, an employee of the sports agency that represents Clemens and Pettitte went to Capitol Hill to be interviewed.
McNamee alleged he injected Clemens with human growth hormone and steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner has denied the allegations repeatedly and in various settings, but not under oath.
McNamee also told Mitchell he injected Pettitte two to four times with HGH, and two days after the report was released in December, Pettitte said he took HGH for two days to deal with an elbow injury in 2002.
The 35-year-old Pettitte, who won four World Series championships with the Yankees, returned to the team last season and went 15-9.
This off-season, he put off retirement and agreed to a $16-million, one-year contract to play for the Yankees next season.
McNamee also said he acquired HGH from former New York Mets clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski for Knoblauch in 2001 — and McNamee said he injected Knoblauch with HGH.
Radomski pleaded guilty in April to federal felony charges of distributing steroids and laundering money. He is scheduled to be sentenced next Friday.
Talking about steroid use
Last week, a lawyer representing McNamee said he believed Pettitte would tell Congress he discussed HGH with Clemens between the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
The lawyer, Earl Ward, said Pettitte talked about HGH with McNamee following a conversation with Clemens.
Richard Emery, another lawyer for McNamee, has said the trainer and Pettitte also discussed steroids use by Clemens.
Clemens is scheduled to give a deposition or transcribed interview to committee lawyers Tuesday, followed by McNamee on Thursday, and Radomski on Feb. 12.
Letters sent by committee chair Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis to Clemens, Pettitte and Knoblauch on Jan. 16, requesting their appearances both at the hearing and a pre-hearing deposition or interview, said: "The committee asks that you provide testimony about allegations in Senator George Mitchell's report … that you and other Major League Baseball players used performance enhancing drugs during your professional baseball career."