Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- A congressional committee asked the U.S. Justice Department to review whether pitcher Roger Clemens committed perjury when he testified that he never used steroids.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey today requesting an investigation relating to Clemens's deposition and testimony for a Feb. 13 hearing on performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.

``We believe that his testimony in a sworn deposition on Feb. 5, 2008, and at a hearing on Feb. 13, 2008, that he never used anabolic steroids or human growth hormone, warrants further investigation,'' committee Chairman Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis said in the letter.

Clemens, a record seven-time recipient of the award for best pitcher in his league, would face a prison term if the department decided to prosecute him for any significant intentional misstatements in his testimony.

Rusty Hardin, a lawyer for Clemens, said the committee's action is ``is unwarranted and not supported by the facts.''

``Roger will continue to fight these false allegations with every ounce of strength he has,'' Hardin said in a statement.

Earl Ward, a lawyer for Clemens's chief accuser, Brian McNamee, said the decision ``vindicates Brian.''

``Prosecutors hate it when people lie,'' said Steven Peikin, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, who oversaw the team that won the obstruction conviction of Martha Stewart, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., on charges she lied to federal investigators about a stock sale.

Five-Year Probe

The government's five-year probe into performance-enhancing drugs among athletes has already resulted in the conviction of Marion Jones, an Olympic runner, and the indictment of Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball's home-run leader.

Jones pleaded guilty last month to obstruction after lying to federal investigators and was sentenced to six months in prison. Bonds was charged in November with perjury and obstruction after telling a grand jury in San Francisco that he hadn't knowingly used steroids. Bonds denied the charges and is seeking to have the perjury charge dismissed Feb. 29.

The Clemens referral follows similar committee action taken last month in the case of Miguel Tejada, an All-Star infielder. Hardin said at a news conference that the case might run for years and already has damaged Clemens's reputation.

``The important thing to remember is that nobody ever recovers from these kind of allegations,'' Hardin said.

Waxman and Davis said Clemens's testimony ``is directly contradicted'' by sworn testimony from McNamee, the pitcher's former trainer, and Andy Pettitte, a former teammate who admitted using human growth hormone.

`Investigation Warranted'

The letter said the Justice Department should look at Clemens's testimony on use of drugs and other areas, including whether he had been notified that baseball investigators wanted to talk with him about steroid allegations and if he was at the Florida home of former teammate Jose Canseco around the time of a June 1998 party.

``We are not in a position to reach a definitive judgment as to whether Mr. Clemens lied to the committee,'' Waxman and Davis said. ``Our only conclusion is that significant questions have been raised about Mr. Clemens's truthfulness and that further investigation by the Department of Justice is warranted. We ask that you initiate such an investigation.''

In a separate statement, Davis, a Republican from Virginia, said he was concerned about ``the integrity of the committee's proceedings.''

``Knowingly providing false information to Congress is a matter we have to take very seriously, and we concluded the only responsible course was to refer the matter to the law enforcement authorities charged to determine whether laws were broken,'' Davis said. ``Our referral focuses on the core question before the committee: whether Roger Clemens used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.''

Tejada Case

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said, ``The department is reviewing the letter and has no further comment at this time.''

After the earlier referral involving Tejada, who plays for the Houston Astros, the Justice Department sent the request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Agents began an inquiry into whether he lied during a 2005 congressional probe of steroids in baseball. The former American League Most Valuable Player said he never took or talked about steroids.

No word has been released on the progress of the Tejada probe. In such preliminary probes, the FBI and prosecutors look at the facts of a case and decide whether to open a formal criminal investigation.

Mitchell Report

A report by former Senator George Mitchell on the sport's drug problem linked Tejada to muscle-building substances, as it did Clemens, Pettitte and more than 80 other current and former players.

Waxman, a Democrat from California, said during the Feb. 13 hearing that Clemens made statements in his sworn deposition that ``we now know are untrue.''

He said Clemens repeatedly denied talking with McNamee about human growth hormone, later acknowledging that he had.

Waxman said Clemens asserted during a televised interview on CBS Corp.'s ``60 Minutes'' program that McNamee ``didn't tell me a word'' about Mitchell's report. Investigators later found that McNamee called Clemens's representatives and told them about Mitchell's report eight days before it was released.

Clemens, who won the Cy Young Award seven times for his pitching performances, said McNamee was trying to ``save his own skin by making up lies that have devastated me and my family.'' Clemens said McNamee only injected him with vitamin B-12 and the painkiller Lidocaine.

`No Reason to Lie'

McNamee, a former New York City police officer, said he has ``no reason to lie and every reason not to,'' pointing to federal prosecution if he doesn't tell the truth. He gave government investigators syringes and steroid vials he says he used in 2001 to inject Clemens.

Pettitte, Clemens's friend and former teammate on the New York Yankees and Astros, told the committee in a deposition and affidavit that Clemens admitted in 1999 or 2000 that he used human growth hormone. Clemens said Pettitte ``misremembers'' a conversation they had about HGH.

Pettitte also confirmed that McNamee injected him with HGH in 2002.

The committee had asked Clemens's attorneys about where to find a former nanny to help determine if, as McNamee claimed, Clemens attended a 1998 party hosted by Canseco, who has since admitted using steroids during his career. McNamee told investigators that Clemens first approached him about drugs shortly after the party.

The nanny told investigators that Clemens was at the house, though she didn't remember a party, Waxman said at the Feb. 13 hearing. She also said that Clemens talked to her in person two days before she spoke to congressional investigators.

Two representatives for Clemens also contacted the nanny the same day. Waxman said at the hearing that Clemens's action in speaking with the nanny before investigators' interview ``raises the appearance of impropriety.''

The New York Daily News reported on Feb. 22 that a photograph may exist showing Clemens at Canseco's party.

To contact the reporters on this story: Danielle Sessa in New York at dsessa@bloomberg.net; Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 27, 2008 17:38 EST