WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi learned Tuesday he will not have to appear before a congressional committee on Thursday.
Tom Davis, the chairman of the House Government Refoirm Committee, and Henry Waxman, the committee's ranking minority member, announced Tuesday that Giambi was excused as a witness for the hearing on steroid use in Major League Baseball at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Giambi will not have to testify because the committee didn't want to hinder an ongoing federal investigation stemming from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative scandal.
"From the outset, we have said that we in no way wanted our inquiry to impede or complicate any ongoing investigations by law enforcement," Davis and Waxman said.
Giambi, 34, had 41 homers and 107 RBI in 2003 when he allegedly admitted to using several steroids provided from Barry Bonds' personal trainer Greg Anderson.
Giambi issued an apology during a press conference last month, but never admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.
