Government: Clemens told "lies to cover up lies"

(AP) WASHINGTON - Prosecutors are painting Roger Clemens as a man who told lies and "other lies to cover up lies" after the court seated a jury that includes seven people who never heard of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner now being retried on charges of lying to Congress.

Prosecutor Steven Durham made his opening statement Monday. He called Clemens a "great baseball player" who engaged in a "story of deceit and dishonesty and betrayal" instead of acknowledging alleged use of steroids and human growth hormone.

Clemens is accused of lying when he said he never used steroids or HGH at a 2008 congressional hearing and at a deposition that preceded it. The case in back in court after a mistrial last year.

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The 12 jurors and four alternates included a Nuclear Regulatory Commission analyst who grew up down the street from a New Jersey house rented by Yankee Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris; a supermarket cashier; an occupational therapist who once saw a game at old Griffith Stadium; an environmental lawyer who ran track in high school; a roughly 80-year-old retired college professor who was born in Germany; and a Treasury Department official.

It was not immediately clear which ones were the alternates.

On another topic, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that former Clemens teammate Andy Pettitte will not be allowed to testify that he got his human growth hormone from Brian McNamee, the former Clemens trainer who says he provided Clemens with steroids and HGH. The judge said that would be prejudicial toward Clemens.

Clemens arrived in court with his wife, Debbie, who had not been allowed to attend his first trial during jury selection because she was to be a witness in her husband's defense. This time she stayed for that process.

Wearing a pinstriped suit, white shirt and silver-striped tie, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner took notes as his lawyers, the prosecutors and judge debated what evidence could be introduced.

Earlier Monday, the judge considered whether the defense can challenge the legitimacy of the congressional hearings. He said that if that happened, "it opens up the door to a lot of information that would not otherwise come into evidence" from the government, including other players who admitted using performance-enhancing drugs. He said he didn't want to force the government to fight with "one hand behind their back."

Clemens chief lawyer Rusty Hardin said it was premature for Walton to rule until Hardin raised questions about the hearings. Hardin also said he wasn't challenging the legitimacy of the hearings, only their focus on Clemens' drug use, which he called a "show trial." Walton deferred a ruling on the matter.

Walton hopes to get to the first witness in the case Tuesday.

Below are thumbnail sketches of the jurors:

Seat 1: Female, single, supermarket cashier for five years. Says, "I'm not a big fan of sports, period." Never heard of Clemens, and says, "If he did indulge, I believe he should be penalized."

Seat 2: Female, plays golf, not a baseball fan, but watches golf, tennis and the Super Bowl. Recently retired, she has worked at an association for psychologists and as an elementary school teacher.

Seat 3: Female, program analyst with Washington D.C. Department of Human Services since 2000. Took prelaw classes and considered going to law school. Never heard of Clemens and doesn't follow sports. Loves to read and bake.

Seat 4: Female, occupational therapist. Attended two baseball games in her life, both in Washington — one at old Griffith Stadium and one at Nationals Park. Not a baseball fan.

Seat 5: Male, studied engineering and bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Hockey fan, likes long-distance running and working out. Knows a lot of people who took performance-enhancing drugs, but says PEDs were not for him. Thought 2008 congressional hearings on steroids were "excessive."

Seat 6: Female, curatorial researcher at the Smithsonian, not a sports fan. On 2008 congressional hearings on steroids, she said, "At the time, I felt maybe that was not the best use of Congress' time when they have so many other things to deal with."

Seat 7: Male, heard of Clemens but said he couldn't identify what position he played. Testified before Congress several times, most recently on cyber legislation, representing financial sector. Now an official at the U.S. Treasury Department. Went to Yale School of Management.

Seat 8: Female, teaches deaf and hard of hearing, from Buffalo. Likes photography and fabric art. Not a sports fan, doesn't know Clemens.

Seat 9: Male, works as administrative assistant at Canadian embassy (next door to the courthouse). Worked at life insurance company. Was a premed student at Howard University. Speaks French and Spanish. Not a baseball fan. Asked about Clemens' 2008 congressional testimony, he said Clemens "seemed forthright."

Seat 10: Female, goes to one baseball game a year. Not a sports fan. Works at American Council on Education as librarian and in continuing education. Likes classical music, cooking vegetarian food and "light philosophy." Not a sports fan.

Seat 11: Male, unemployed 27-year-old who said his reaction to jury duty was "No, no, no, no, no," and that he'd rather be sleeping than in court. Likes basketball but not baseball and has never heard of Clemens. Promised to be "wide awake" if selected for jury.

Seat 12: Male, retired, grew up in Germany, moved to U.S. at the age of 15 in 1946, which would make him around 80 years old. Taught political science at University of Massachusetts-Amherst for 25 years, also taught at Smith. Didn't recognize Clemens' name; only sport he follows is soccer.

Seat 13: Female, retiree, active in effort to get voting rights for D.C. Worked at U.S. Department of Transportation and Bureau of Public Debt. Said her husband told her, upon learning she might serve on this trial, "Get out of it, don't do it!," eliciting chuckle from Clemens.

Seat 14: Female, environmental lawyer, ran cross-country and track in high school. Doesn't follow sports. Knew Clemens as a "well-regarded pitcher," but, "didn't know he was connected to steroids."

Seat 15: Male, says he grew up in River Edge, N.J., down the street from a house rented by New York Yankee stars Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. Been going to gym since 1975, knows people who use steroids, calls it a "pretty stupid thing to do." Avid cyclist. Works as senior program analyst for Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Studied docket of Clemens case.

Seat 16: Female, works in law enforcement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, calls herself a "sharpshooter." When not working, sleeps and cooks a lot. Not a sports fan, and hadn't heard of Clemens.