Bonds in limbo, trainer to be freed as jury expires
Bonds Just Wants To Talk Baseball
SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds' personal trainer was set to be released from prison Thursday, his attorney said, the same day the term of the grand jury investigating the baseball star was to expire.
It was unclear if Greg Anderson's expected release would have any bearing on whether indictments were handed up against Bonds. He was being investigated for possible perjury and tax evasion.
"I think something could happen tomorrow," Bonds' attorney, Michael Rains, told Reuters. "What I see happening tomorrow is maybe the U.S. attorney will tell the public what has happened in this case."
"Theoretically if the grand jury is convened tomorrow for their last day, there could be a situation where they could submit to the grand jurors for signature an indictment," he continued. But "even if it is signed tomorrow they may hold it for a matter of a few days."
| Thompson: Will he or won't he? |
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Barry Bonds sat in front of his locker, watching The Tyra Banks Show on his personal television. He tapped his foot along to Bobby Brown, smiling as the singer crooned: Everybody's talking all this stuff about me. Why don't they just let me live?
But if he is calm, he's the only one. The rest of San Francisco is aflutter, an entire city asking: Will he or won't he? To read more of Wright Thompson's column, click here. |
Attorney Mark Geragos told The Associated Press late Wednesday that he was certain Anderson would be released from jail at noon Thursday. Geragos declined to say how he knew it.
Anderson was held in civil contempt and sent to federal prison earlier this month for refusing to testify to the grand jury investigating Bonds. Anderson was to be held until he agreed to testify or the term of the grand jury expired. Geragos has said in the past that his client would not testify.
Prosecutors could choose to impanel a new grand jury after the current one expires Thursday, meaning Anderson's status could be in jeopardy again.
Anderson likely holds the key to whether perjury charges could stick against Bonds, who testified in 2003 that he thought substances given to him by the trainer were arthritis balm and flaxseed oil.
Authorities suspected Bonds was lying and that those items were "the clear" and "the cream" -- two performance-enhancing drugs tied to the BALCO, the lab exposed as a steroids supplier to top athletes in baseball, track and other sports.
"Obviously, they think they need Greg to prove perjury," Geragos said.
Rains and others say the federal grand jury's term expires on Thursday, timing that points to action then if the grand jury believes there is a criminal case against Bonds.
Rains has said Bonds received immunity for his 2003 grand jury appearance, yet witnesses can face perjury charges if they are accused of not testifying truthfully.
Perjury, which is knowingly lying in a judicial proceeding while under oath, is often difficult to prove and is prosecuted relatively infrequently, legal experts say. The crime carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Allegations of steroid use long have plagued Bonds, who passed Babe Ruth in May to become second only to Hank Aaron on the career home run list. They intensified in late 2003, when he testified before the original Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative grand jury, which took testimony from about two dozen athletes.
Without the trainer's help, prosecutors still could indict Bonds on charges alleging he failed to pay taxes on money made through sales of autographs and other memorabilia.
"There is nothing about what is going on that suggests to me that there is a tax case here," Rains said. "I think that the reports that have been out there notwithstanding, this is not a tax evasion case.
"There would be signs and symptoms I would be able to read if they were going down that route."
They also could seek to extend the grand jury's term to put more pressure on Anderson to cooperate, or convene a new panel and put Anderson back in jail. There's also the chance Bonds might be indicted on perjury charges without Anderson's testimony.
"I don't think Barry has violated any laws. Under our system, if the government is going to point a finger at him, the government better be well prepared to," said Rains. "I will do everything in my power to make sure that Barry gets a tenacious and effective defense."
Federal prosecutors declined to comment Wednesday.
Anderson was one of five men convicted in the steroids scandal surrounding BALCO. He was sentenced to three months behind bars and three months of home confinement in October after pleading guilty to money laundering and steroid distribution.
He was found in contempt of court and jailed again July 5 for refusing to testify in the Bonds probe.
Federal prosecutors say they need Anderson, in part, to interpret calendars that seem to spell out Bonds' schedule for using performance-enhancing drugs. The calendars were seized by investigators from Anderson's house in 2003.
Geragos says Anderson must be released when the grand jury's term expires Thursday, even if prosecutors succeed in extending the panel's investigation.
But former federal prosecutors said authorities likely will try to keep him locked up.
"That's simply because he hasn't served that much time in jail," said Jonathan Howden, who left the U.S. Attorney's office earlier this year after 25 years as a prosecutor. "Under normal circumstances, the judge would find that he is still lawfully subject to the contempt order."
Separately, Geragos has launched an effort to get his client freed based on a tape-recorded conversation that Geragos says was made illegally in the spring of 2003 by government investigators. On the tape, Anderson allegedly discusses Bonds' illegal drug use with an unidentified athlete.
"Mr. Anderson allegedly makes numerous remarks regarding baseball's steroids testing, Barry Bonds' use of an undetectable performance-enhancing drug to beat drug tests, and Mr. Anderson's own alleged steroid use," Geragos said in a court filing.
Geragos is demanding that the government disclose the contents of that tape. He suspects they won't and says it's illegal for Anderson to remain in prison because he won't testify about information the government allegedly obtained without a warrant.
"They have to turn over the tape or let Greg out," Geragos said.
A decision on that argument is expected soon from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Former federal prosecutors said Anderson faces long odds with that argument because grand jury witnesses aren't entitled to see the government's evidence before they testify, except on rare occasions.
Geragos argued this is such an occasion, because he says the tape Anderson's acquaintance made is an illegal wiretap. If the appeals court agrees, then Anderson would not have to testify, according to Geragos.
That scenario could jeopardize the government's perjury investigation, he added.
As for Bonds, he singled as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning on Wednesday afternoon, starting a rally that won the game for his San Francisco Giants. Fans chanted: "Barry, Barry" as he arrived in the on-deck circle and he was cheered when he got the hit.
In the locker room after the game, Bonds initially watched television for a few minutes and then would only answer reporters' question about baseball. He declined to speak about his legal situation.
"His spirits have generally been good," Rains said. "He is certainly very, very much aware of the swarm of controversy going around this thing and I can't help but think it affects him off the field."
Rains said federal investigators had not responded to his request to have talks before any possible indictment.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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