WASHINGTON (AP) — His large frame towering over the microphone, Roger Clemens leaned forward at the podium and declared to the judge in a deep voice with a Texas twang: “Yes sir, I am not testifying.”

Minutes earlier, four prosecutors representing the U.S. government huddled at their table and then declared: No, they wouldn’t roll the dice to try to introduce new evidence to bolster the credibility of their key witness. There was just too much risk that it could backfire.