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Bonds Perjury/Tax Evasion Watch Thread

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Deeper_Background, Jul 20, 2006.

  1. Deeper_Background

    Deeper_Background Active Member

    So when is this going down today, any bettors? 
     
  2. Deeper_Background

    Deeper_Background Active Member

    Bonds in limbo, trainer to be freed as jury expires today ESPN.com news services


    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?
    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."
     
  3. Deeper_Background

    Deeper_Background Active Member

    Bonds grand jury arrives at courthouse
    Star could be indicted for tax evasion, perjury; trainer to get out of prison

    Benjamin Sklar / AP
    Allegations of steroid use long have plagued Barry Bonds, who passed Babe Ruth in May to become second only to Hank Aaron on the career home run list.



    Updated: 16 minutes ago
    SAN FRANCISCO - Members of the grand jury investigating baseball’s Barry Bonds for perjury and tax evasion arrived at the federal courthouse Thursday for what could be their final day of work.

    Mark Geragos, attorney for Bonds’ personal trainer, told The Associated Press his client would be released later in the day from federal prison, where Greg Anderson was sent more than two weeks ago after he refused to testify to the grand jury.

    The judge said Anderson was to be held until he agreed to testify against Bonds or the grand jury’s term expired, and the panel’s term was set to expire Thursday. It was unclear if Anderson’s expected release would have any bearing on whether indictments were handed up against Bonds.

    Story continues below ↓
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    Prosecutors could seek to extend the grand jury’s term to put more pressure on Anderson to cooperate, or convene a new panel and put him back in jail.
     
  4. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    ABC radio is reporting the grand jury won't indict but the investigation will continue.
     
  5. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    No indictment today:


    By PAUL ELIAS and DAVID KRAVETS - Associated Press Writers

    SAN FRANCISCO(AP) Barry Bonds will not be indicted immediately, federal prosecutors said Thursday, but the ongoing grand-jury investigation of steroids and possible perjury and tax-evasion charges against the San Francisco Giants star will continue.

    Speculation had been mounting for weeks that Bonds, one of the biggest names in professional sports, would be indicted, and his lawyers had said they were preparing a defense in the case.

    Soon after the grand jury reported to the federal courthouse here to begin what was to be the final day of its probe, the U.S. Attorney's office issued a statement saying it "is not seeking an indictment (Thursday) in connection with the ongoing steroids-related investigation.

    "Much has been accomplished to date, and we will continue to move forward actively in this investigation _ including continuing to seek the truthful testimony of witnesses whose testimony the grand jury is entitled to hear," reads the statement from Luke Macaulay, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan.

    Mark Geragos, attorney for Bonds' personal trainer Greg Anderson, told The Associated Press his client would be released later in the day from federal prison, where Anderson was sent more than two weeks ago after he refused to testify to the grand jury.

    The judge said Anderson was to be held until he agreed to testify against Bonds or the grand jury's term expired. With the grand jury apparently being extended beyond Thursday, it is unclear whether Anderson still will be released.

    Prosecutors might seek to put more pressure on Anderson, who likely holds the key to whether perjury charges could stick against Bonds.

    He testified in 2003 that he thought substances given to him by Anderson were arthritis balm and flaxseed oil. Authorities suspected the San Francisco Giants slugger was lying and that those items were "the clear" and "the cream" _ two performance-enhancing drugs tied to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, 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 Wednesday.

    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 BALCO grand jury, which took testimony from about two dozen athletes.
     
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