WASHINGTON — Seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of lying to Congress about whether he used steroids or human growth hormone.
When asked for a plea by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, the retired Major League Baseball pitcher said in a clear voice: "Not guilty, your honor."
Clemens and another of baseball's premier stars sullied by steroid accusations, all-time home run leader Barry Bonds, could both begin their day in court next spring, turning the spotlight back on major league baseball's long-running drug scandal just as it opens the 2011 season.
Wearing a dark jacket, brown pants and tie, Clemens appeared in federal court only a few blocks from where he swore under oath to a House committee in 2008 that he had not used performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens, who pitched for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros, got into a van and left shortly after his plea without speaking to the throngs of reporters and television cameras waiting outside the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse.
Federal prosecutors didn't believe Clemens' testimony to Congress, and they subsequently charged him with making false statements, perjury and obstruction of Congress.
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
