McNamee Lawyers Throw a Brushback

Lawyers for Brian McNamee are attempting to have Roger Clemens' lead attorney, Rusty Hardin, disqualified from the defamation suit brought by Clemens. The reasoning behind it is that Hardin has also represented Andy Pettitte, who would be one of the key witnesses for the McNamee team. This woud, according to McNamee's lawyers, create a conflict of interest for Hardin.

“To successfully prosecute Mr. Clemens’s claim, and consistent with his duty of loyalty to Mr. Clemens, Mr. Hardin would be obligated to disclose confidential information about Mr. Pettitte to undermine Mr. Pettitte’s credibility,” the brief said.

Hardin sent out an email about the case and was a little more subtle than his usual approach.

“Brian McNamee’s statements to the Mitchell commission and others concerning steroid and H.G.H. use by Roger Clemens are absolutely false and the very definition of defamatory,” Hardin said in an e-mail message. “We look forward to trying this matter before a jury rather than in the court of public opinion.”

McNamee's team is also trying to protect their client's statement to federal investigators from being made public.

We can only hope the case doesn't go to trial until the off-season so that Andy Pettitte isn't distracted.

Source: NY Times