WASHINGTON — Security guards at the federal courthouse in Washington are under investigation for accepting baseballs with Roger Clemens' autograph.
The guards are not allowed to accept gifts from a criminal defendant. But the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement, first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post, that it appears up to six baseballs were given to a guard who distributed them to four or five colleagues.
Clemens went through security just like any other member of the public entering the courthouse during the six days of his trial last month on charges of lying about using performance-enhancing drugs.
But a team of security guards escorted him out of the building through a throng of media when the judge suddenly declared a mistrial after prosecutors showed inadmissible evidence.