from www.nydailynews.com – Long before Roger Clemens’ sexual performance problems became a subject of country singer Mindy McCready’s sex tape, they were the focus of a federal investigation into the pitcher’s sworn denials of steroid and human growth hormone use.

The Daily News has learned that when the FBI interviewed McCready in May of 2008 in conjunction with the perjury probe of the seven-time Cy Young winner, a significant part of the questioning focused on whether Clemens had erectile dysfunction issues and how often they occurred. A source told The News that the questions were detailed and explored intimate details of McCready’s sexual relationship with the Rocket. It is believed the agents were trying to determine if there was a connection between erectile dysfunction and performance-enhancing drug use, particularly steroids.

Clemens’ lead attorney, Rusty Hardin, acknowledges that an indictment could be the end result of the government’s ongoing and wide-ranging investigation into whether his client lied when he told Congress he never used steroids or human growth hormone.

“I’ve always thought it was possible,” Hardin told The News yesterday.

The News had exposed McCready’s long-term affair with Clemens a month before the feds’ interview with her, but Hardin has denied that McCready was anything other than a family friend of his client’s. The latest bombshell details of the Clemens saga come on the heels of a salacious sex tape featuring McCready that Vivid Video is planning to release next month. McCready attorney Adam Dread said yesterday that he plans to file for a court injunction to prevent the tape’s release.

Hardin said he didn’t know about the tape and declined to comment on it. “I think responding to trash only gets you in the garbage can,” Hardin said. “So we’re not going to do it.”

Hardin did take a shot at McCready, claiming the singer “tried to extort a bunch of money out of us in return for not doing all this silly stuff she’s doing that’s not true.”

That remark brought a strong rebuke from McCready and her Nashville attorney, Lee Ofman.

“I’ve never tried to extort money from Roger Clemens. (Clemens) gave me money all the time, but I never had to ask for it,” McCready told The News. “I’ve known Roger since I was 15, and Roger was not the kind of person he is now. I know Roger is a good person. I know he never would have said in a million years that I tried to extort money from him.”

Added Ofman: “That’s not true. As far as I know, Mindy has never tried to extort money from Roger. I’ve talked to Rusty many times, and that’s never come up. I don’t know if that quote comes out of context.”

The perjury investigation isn’t the Rocket’s only legal headache. For two years, Clemens has pursued a defamation suit against his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who told federal investigators as well as former Senator George Mitchell that he personally injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs numerous times between 1998 and 2001.

Clemens’ former teammate, Jose Canseco, said last week that he received a subpoena calling him to testify on April 8 before the Washington, D.C. grand jury investigating Clemens for perjury.

“Obviously they’re still moving forward,” Hardin said. “They’re calling people in the grand jury, all of which would be a standard thing.”

Canseco became involved in the Clemens matter when he submitted an affidavit supporting some of the claims Clemens made to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Leaders of that committee asked the Justice Department to investigate Clemens for perjury in February of 2008. Since then, FBI agents have interviewed dozens of people, collected DNA samples and other evidence and conducted lie-detector tests in a wide-ranging investigation. Some of the people they questioned were later brought to D.C. to testify, but prosecutors there have declined to make any public comment on the case. Hardin commended their discretion.

“I do have a great deal of respect and appreciation for the confidentiality of the way they’ve done it,” Hardin said. “The fact that they’ve been so good about keeping it to themselves is one of the reasons I’ve wanted to reciprocate and not comment myself. But I think they’re going about it professionally.”

If the grand jury issues an indictment of Clemens, Hardin said, he and his client will consider the charges before deciding on the next step.

“It will just be a question at the end of the day whether they do what we believe the truth is, or whether they disagree with us,” Hardin said.

“The question’ll be as to whether ultimately we end up disagreeing. I certainly cannot quarrel about the way they’ve gone about it.”

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