WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON -- A House committee asked the Justice Department yesterday to investigate whether former Orioles star Miguel Tejada lied in 2005 when he denied ever using steroids - a statement the panel says conflicts with information in the recently released Mitchell Report.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform made Tejada and other former Orioles central figures in a 4-hour, 15-minute hearing about baseball's steroid era.
The Sun reported on its Web site Monday that the committee was revisiting Tejada's statements to determine whether he lied.
Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who attended the hearing as a spectator to demonstrate support for commissioner Bud Selig and his testimony, said it was too soon to judge Tejada. Tejada, recently traded to the Houston Astros, could face a maximum five-year prison term if the Justice Department brought a case and he was convicted of knowingly making "materially false statements."
The investigative report released last month by former Sen. George Mitchell said former Oakland Athletics teammate Adam Piatt was asked by Tejada whether he had steroids in 2003 and that Piatt provided the drugs.
In a previously unreleased transcript, Tejada replied "no" when asked by the committee staff in 2005 whether he had ever taken steroids, androstendione or any other steroid precursor or whether he heard discussions among other players about steroids.
"Everyone is innocent until proven otherwise," Angelos said in an interview.
Angelos went further, saying former Orioles All-Star Rafael Palmeiro, who was suspended after testing positive for a powerful steroid in 2005, deserves the same consideration as Tejada.
Angelos and other baseball officials sat in the front row, behind the witness table. Angelos was quickly surrounded by media members during a break in the hearing and asked whether steroids were a bigger problem for the Orioles than for other teams. "I don't know that anyone knows," he replied evenly.
He said of Palmeiro: "No one would have ever concluded in any way that he was involved in the use of any improper or illegal substances. I still find it hard to believe, to be perfectly frank with you. Nonetheless, there are indications that that may have been the case. But ... until proven otherwise, he is completely innocent."
The committee also raised questions about whether Orioles officials knew about the use of human growth hormone by David Segui.
