When the Mitchell Report named Roger Clemens as an abuser of steroids and human growth hormone in 2008, the famed Yankees pitcher attempted to clear his name. According to former trainer Brian McNamee, Clemens’ subsequent efforts to clear his name was a smear campaign that pegged McNamee as dishonest. Some six years later, Clemens and McNamee are still fighting this battle in court.
A U.S. District Court Magistrate ruled on Jan. 30 that Clemens’ baseball agent Randy Hendricks and public relations strategist Joe Householder are not covered by attorney-client privilege. The decision stymies Clemens’ attempt to stop McNamee from using the trio’s communication in his defamation lawsuit, according to the New York Daily News.
According to Judge Cheryl Pollak, the majority of the documents Clemens claimed were shielded because they were part of preparation for litigation were not protected because they mostly deal with the former pitcher’s public relations problems. Pollack added that since Clemens did not give an appropriate log of documents, the court could not deem if the documents were in fact privileged. Pollack ordered Clemens to hand over the documents in September.
“If the assertion of privilege or work product has been frivolously claimed with respect to any document, the court will consider imposing sanctions in the former of waiver as to all documents and/or award costs and attorneys’ fees incurred by plaintiffs counsel,” Pollack said in her court order.
Clemens has until Friday to produce the documents, and both Clemens and McNamee will need to appear in Brooklyn federal court to go over the documents on March 7. The judge also ordered that Clemens and McNamee discuss a settlement of the suit that McNamee filed in December 2008.
“It’s a ringing endorsement of the court’s unwillingness to tolerate Clemens’ attempts to hide the truth and facts of the case,” said McNamee’s attorney, Richard Emery. “It’s more attempts to deflect from the core for the case — which is whether Clemens lied.”