McNamee lawyer: Pettitte will corroborate HGH accusation against Clemens

Lanny Breuer, Clemens' new lawyer, said the seven-time Cy Young Award winner stood by his denials.

"Roger Clemens' remarkable success as a pitcher has everything to do with his extraordinary work ethic and his innate abilities, and nothing to do with HGH or steroids," Breuer said in a statement. "Let me be clear: Roger Clemens never took HGH and he never took steroids."

Ward's claims about the discussion were first reported by the New York Times on its website.

The delay of Pettitte's deposition or transcribed interview was the latest switch in the schedule of meetings between witnesses and staff before the Feb. 13 hearing.

"Just a mutually agreeable postponement," said Keith Ausbrook, Republican general counsel for the committee. "It gives us a little more time to prepare and gives him a little more time to prepare."

Also asked to appear at next month's hearing are Clemens, McNamee, former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, and former New York Mets clubhouse employee Kirk Radomski.

"Mr. Pettitte is cooperating voluntarily with the committee, and we look forward to his testimony on Monday," panel chairman Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis said in a joint statement. "We appreciate Mr. Pettitte's willingness to assist the committee."

Knoblauch now is scheduled for Friday and would be the first of the five Feb. 13 witnesses to provide a deposition or transcribed interview. He agreed to appear after a subpoena was issued.

Clemens is to follow Feb. 5, with McNamee down for Feb. 7, and Radomski on Feb. 12 -- pending further changes to a repeatedly shuffled schedule.

Letters sent by Waxman and Davis to Clemens, Pettitte and Knoblauch on Jan. 16, requesting their appearances both at the hearing and a pre-hearing meeting, 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."

Clemens, Pettitte and Knoblauch were among more than 80 players named in the Mitchell Report.

McNamee told Mitchell he acquired HGH from Radomski for Knoblauch in 2001, and that he injected the player with it. Knoblauch's major league career ended in 2002.

Radomski pleaded guilty in April to federal felony charges of distributing steroids and laundering money, and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 8.

The 35-year-old Pettitte has a 201-113 major league record and won four World Series championships with the Yankees. He also helped his hometown Houston Astros reach their first World Series.

Pettitte returned to the Yankees last season and went 15-9. This offseason, he put off retirement and agreed to a $16 million, one-year contract to play for the Yankees next season.