NY Daily News: Bonds likely to be indicted when grand jury resumes (Sept.)

[rokski2]

The grand jury has been extended for an additional 6 months and TJ Quinn reports that federal prosecutors feel they are likely to seek and obtain an indictment against Barry Bonds based on either perjury and/or tax evasion:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2007/07/21/2007-07-21_jurys_in_on_bonds-7.html


Not what Bonds or his lawyer Michael Rains wanted to hear.

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More follow-up articles, commentary and speculation to come.

 

[Football_Bat]

The tabs are on fire this week!

 

[slappy4428]

Solid piece.. .Of course, think of this, boys and girls... Bonds breaks the record, gets indicted on perjury for his testimony, tried and loses.
Since he perjured himself on his use of performance enhancing drugs, Selig bans him from the game for conduct not in the best interests of baseball. We know he won't play again anyway and he wouldn't think of coaching, managing or otherwise giving back, the only thing left is -- tada -- an ineligiblity for the Hall of Fame....
Selig couldn't do anything about him, breaking the record, but can make sure of Bonds' legacy...

Thoughts?

 

[ondeadline]

Barry lied? A nice guy like him? I'd be stunned to hear such news.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

My Nifong alarm bell is ringing again.
They could indict him for perjury now, but they're going to wait until the fall to do it? Why would they do that? This is to give Anderson six more months in stir to think about singing on what they really want to nail Bonds for -- the drug stuff.

 

[creamora]

More government leaks? Sounds as though there may be additional indictments besides Bonds. Possibly Marion Jones?

 

[rokski2]

I'm going to speculate here: Unless something changes during the next 6 months of the grand jury's being convened, I think that Bonds will be indicted on tax evasion charges and not on perjury charges.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

I think they probably had him nailed on tax evasion a year ago. The standard of proof on that one is pretty much whatever the IRS says it is.
This still looks like an attempt to put more pressure on the only guy who's already in jail.

 

[RokSki]

I think they probably had him nailed on tax evasion a year ago. The standard of proof on that one is pretty much whatever the IRS says it is.
This still looks like an attempt to put more pressure on the only guy who's already in jail.

You know, FB, we both could be correct.

That is, this almost certainly is an attempt to get information from Anderson, but it still could be a decision from the federal prosecutors (and those above them) that regardless of whether or not they get potentially-needed evidence from Anderson, they have finally made the decision to seek an indictment against Bonds even if it is not on the grounds at the heart of this case, steroids.

The feds need to save some face and the current administration has made steroids a specific issue. If a certain percentage of the population still believes Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11, perhaps when they hear Barry Bonds has been indicted, they will necessarily believe that it is for/about steroids even if that is not the case when/if the indictment is rendered.

The tax evasion thing worked with Al Cappone, I believe. Why not Barry Bonds?

 

[Scribbled_Notz]

How about Bonds' lawyer coming out and bragging about how he's going to keep kicking the govt's ass? Talk about stupid.

 

[RokSki]

How about Bonds' lawyer coming out and bragging about how he's going to keep kicking the govt's ass? Talk about stupid.

I agree, it's dumb. I know what he's trying to do (intimidate them, as he has been with his apparent damning evidence of Novitzky's supposedly-shoddy investigative methods), but this is not the administration you want to try to bully around or play chicken with.

 

[RokSki]

How about Bonds' lawyer coming out and bragging about how he's going to keep kicking the govt's ass? Talk about stupid.

Here's a sample of what Scribbled Notz is referring to, in the case of Bonds' attorney Michael Rains:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2003800570_basenotes22.html

"I'll outmaneuver them at every turn," Michael Rains said Saturday night. "I've kicked their ass in private, I'll continue to kick their ass in public."

 

[Pete]

Two sentences in this Daily News story struck me and I was wondering if anyone could tell me more. Specifically:

"Bonds was called before the original BALCO grand jury in 2003, and he testified that he had taken drugs identified as steroids, but did not know what they were at the time. Part of his testimony was overheard by a Daily News reporter, and the full extent of it was reported a year later by the San Francisco Chronicle."

What does "part of his testimony was overheard by a Daily News reporter" mean? How does one "overhear" grand jury testimony? Does that mean a reporter was somehow in the grand jury room? (That's not possible, is it?) Or was perched close enough to the door to hear snippets? Or the reporter "overheard" someone reading a transcript or otherwise relaying what happened in the room? I'm at a loss here.

I apologize if this has long been established; I just hadn't noticed this element before.

I'll hang up and listen.

 

[RokSki]

Two sentences in this Daily News story struck me and I was wondering if anyone could tell me more. Specifically:

"Bonds was called before the original BALCO grand jury in 2003, and he testified that he had taken drugs identified as steroids, but did not know what they were at the time. Part of his testimony was overheard by a Daily News reporter, and the full extent of it was reported a year later by the San Francisco Chronicle."

What does "part of his testimony was overheard by a Daily News reporter" mean? How does one "overhear" grand jury testimony? Does that mean a reporter was somehow in the grand jury room? (That's not possible, is it?) Or was perched close enough to the door to hear snippets? Or the reporter "overheard" someone reading a transcript or otherwise relaying what happened in the room? I'm at a loss here.

I apologize if this has long been established; I just hadn't noticed this element before.

I'll hang up and listen.

I was wondering the same thing, Pete. How, exactly, did the NYDN 'overhear' this testimony? Isn't this the first we've heard of this? Is this an attempt to try to diffuse some of the heat (remember, Ellerman just got sentenced to 2.5 years, I believe) from the Chron Gang?

T.J. Quinn's article had a lot of interesting tidbits, and this was one of the first things that jumped out at me.

Nice reading and critical thinking, Pete. If anyone has the answers to Pete's questions, please feel free to provide them.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Wow. A Pete sighting. Good to see you!

The Daily News has been throwing that line into stories about Bonds for quite a while. The answer to your question is that the reporter was able to overhear Bonds' testimony in the hallway outside of where he was testifying and the officials didn't realize it. At least T.J. Quinn has written as much. I am not sure if it is Quinn who actually overheard it. I vaguely recall that it wasn't him... it was a woman reporter maybe--not sure who? At least I have a vague memory of that, but I don't know for sure. I might be totally wrong. Anyone know if that is right and it is public knowledge who it was?

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

I believe that was covered in Game of Shadows.

 

[creamora]

Quinn has claimed that he himself overheard a small amount of Bonds' testimory by standing outside the door in the hallway.
Quinn made this claim right after Bonds' testimony in December 2003.