Brian McNamee was in the Long Island office he works in when word came over CNN that the government would indict Roger Clemens for perjury.

The entire office began clapping, and for the first time in 2 1/2 years, McNamee could breathe a little bit easier.

"I've told the truth all along," McNamee told the Daily News Thursday night. "It was an unfortunate situation, but I just told the truth."

Thursday's development was a long way from May of 2007, when McNamee's world was officially turned upside down. Right in the middle of Clemens' '07 return to the Yankees, while McNamee was helping the Rocket train in Lexington, Ky., McNamee received a call from then-IRS agent Jeff Novitzky while shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods.

It was the beginning of McNamee's involvement with the government's sprawling steroid probe. Over the rest of 2007, McNamee met with former senator George Mitchell's investigators three times in connection with Mitchell's own investigation into performance-enhancing drug use in baseball. The Mitchell Report triggered a congressional hearing and Thursday's indictment.

Mark Paoletta, who was part of McNamee's legal team leading up to the February 2008 congressional appearance, told The News Thursday that McNamee's testimony went a long way toward bolstering his credibility.

"For Brian, to get him ready to testify, it was important to walk him through his story, grill him on his recollections, and make sure he was credible. Before the committee, Brian stayed focused on the relevant events involving Roger Clemens - most importantly when and how he injected Clemens - and gave clear and crisp answers," said Paoletta. "Brian stepped up to the challenge, did a great job. And that's why he is not facing a perjury indictment."

McNamee praised his lawyers' work, telling The News, "My attorneys did their due diligence all along. They're doing it the right way."

The personal toll on McNamee, however, has been vast. The legal bills to defend a defamation suit Clemens filed against him in January of 2008 have mounted and he has had trouble finding work as a trainer. He recently began working in a Long Island office.

"Brian told the truth. He did what he was supposed to do, and he went through hell for it," said McNamee's friend Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant who supplied steroids to ballplayers.

Radomski said McNamee angered investigators by holding back information about Clemens in a misguided attempt to protect his former client. Clemens, Radomski said, repaid the favor by sending private detectives to dig up dirt on McNamee and attacking him in interviews as unstable.

"People say he was a rat, but he tried to protect Clemens," Radomski added. "He wasn't going to lie for Clemens and risk going to jail, but he wasn't going to tell them everything he knew until Clemens attacked him. I'm glad for Brian. He can get on with his life. It's been very difficult for him to have this hanging over his head."