No perjury against Palmeiro

Charges couldn't be substantiated, the congressional prosecution said.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rafael Palmeiro will not be prosecuted on perjury charges after lawmakers said Thursday there isn't enough evidence to prove he lied when he told Congress under oath that he had "never used steroids" -- six weeks before failing a steroid test.
The investigation did not conclude whether the former Baltimore Orioles slugger had actually ever used performance-enhancing substances prior to his testimony before the House Government Reform Committee.
The explanation
"We couldn't find any evidence of steroid use prior to his testimony," Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., said in releasing a 44-page report. "That's not a finding of innocence, but it's a finding that we could not substantiate perjury."
At issue was Palmeiro's statement at a March 17 hearing: "I have never used steroids. Period." On May 4, he failed a Major League Baseball drug test, coming up positive for an anabolic steroid. In August, shortly after baseball suspended Palmeiro for 10 days, Davis said Congress would look into whether the player committed perjury.
"We have a responsibility, an obligation, to investigate it, and that's what we've done," Davis said during a news conference in the same hearing room where Palmeiro had testified.
Timeline in his favor
Davis said the steroid for which Palmeiro tested positive is detectable for three to four weeks, shorter than the gap between his failed test and Capitol Hill appearance, and therefore "could not have been in his system the day he testified."
"We were not concerned with why he tested positive or how he tested positive except for how that related to his testimony," Davis added.
Shortly after the report's release, Palmeiro issued a statement.
"I am pleased that after a thorough investigation -- one in which I cooperated fully -- the committee has chosen to drop this matter," he said. "I want to express my gratitude to the committee for the fairness and professionalism with which they conducted their business. I have never intentionally taken steroids and I strongly oppose the illegal use of steroids by athletes or anyone else."
Tainted B-12?
Palmeiro issued his first detailed public comments on the case Wednesday, including a possible explanation for why he might have failed the steroid test: a tainted vial of liquid B-12 given to him by a teammate. Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada later acknowledged he was the teammate.
The report is based on interviews with Palmeiro, his wife, Tejada and other players, an Orioles physician and trainer, and documents turned over by baseball related to Palmeiro's drug tests and the arbitration hearing about his suspension.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.