A draft letter asking the Justice Department to investigate whether Roger Clemens made false statements to Congress has been written by House staffers, The New York Times reported on its Web site Monday, citing three unidentified lawyers familiar with the matter.

According to the Times, Brian McNamee's name was not included in the letter, which could mean that the committee decided Clemens' former trainer told the truth about the pitcher's alleged steroid use.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held the Feb. 13 hearing at which personal trainer Brian McNamee repeated his allegations that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone - and Clemens repeated his denials. Both men spoke under oath during depositions and at the hearing.

Karen Lightfoot, spokeswoman for committee chairman Henry Waxman, would not comment when asked about the existence of the draft letter. Waxman's chief of staff did not respond to telephone or e-mail messages.

Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis have been working in concert during the committee's look at steroids in baseball, dating to the 2005 hearing with Mark McGwire.

But as of Monday evening, the committee's sides hadn't been in contact about a letter or a referral.

"We've not been told about a draft letter. We haven't been told to expect one. And we haven't been told about a process where anyone was supposed to draft a letter," committee Republican general counsel Keith Ausbrook said.

Also Monday, McNamee lawyer Earl Ward said his side will file papers by March 4 asking a federal judge to dismiss the defamation suit Clemens filed against McNamee. Ward said McNamee's legal team will cite "various grounds of jurisdiction as well as the deficiency in the pleading."