Clemens Acquitted of Lying to Congress [VIDEO]

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Former Major League pitcher Roger Clemens has been found not guilty of lying to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs.  The charges stemmed from 2008 testimony in which he denied using steroids or human growth hormone during a Congressional hearing into the use of the banned substances in the sport.

Clemens faced a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine if convicted on all six counts.

Testimony focused on assertions from his former trainer, Brian McNamee, that he injected Clemens with PEDs during his time with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.  The defense worked to try to put a dent in McNamee’s credibility.

The verdict comes after short deliberations.  The jury got the case late on Wednesday, but didn’t meet on Thursday or Friday because U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton had a long-scheduled speaking engagement in New Orleans.

Listen to audio of Roger Clemens speaking after his acquittal outside of Federal Court in Washington DC Monday:

Audio clip:

Clemens: “It’s been uh, a hard five years, and uh, they’ve (his family) been great; behind Dad and supporting Dad. My wife has been um a rock behind us, and um all of our family at home in Houston have been great.”

Listen to audio of Roger Clemens getting emotional while speaking after his acquittal outside of Federal Court in Washington DC Monday:

Audio clip:

“I put a lot of uh hard work into that career. (pauses) And uh, so, again I appreciate my teammates that came in and all the e-mails and phone calls.”

Watch VIDEO below of Roger Clemens’ statement after the verdict:

Watch the VIDEO below for more on the verdict: