VIA CNN.com:
Retired baseball star Roger Clemens arrived at U.S. District Court in Washington on Monday for an arraignment on charges related to his insistence that he never used performance-enhancing drugs, according to two court officials.
Clemens, whose arraignment is scheduled for 2 p.m., faces six felony charges, including perjury, obstruction of Congress and making false statements after he told a House of Representatives committee that he never used human growth hormone or steroids.
During the arraignment, Judge Reggie Walton will make sure Clemens understands the charges and will ask him to respond with a plea. The seven-time Cy Young award winner is expected to plead not guilty.
“I never took HGH or Steroids. And I did not lie to Congress,” Clemens said via his Twitter account August 19, the day a federal grand jury indicted him. “I look forward to challenging the Governments accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trial. I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I am happy to finally have my day in court.”
The starting pitcher left baseball in 2007 after 24 seasons with major league teams, including the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and New York Yankees. He was the first pitcher to win seven Cy Young awards.
The charges stem the pitcher’s February 2008 appearance before the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee. Both Clemens’ former trainer, Brian McNamee, and a report by former Sen. George Mitchell stated Clemens had used banned substances at points in his career.
