Here we go.......Bonds indicted on federal charges

BigDragon

The sh1t starts flying now........

MLB.COM wrote:

Former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds has been indicted by a federal grand jury seated in San Francisco on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying when he said he did not use performance-enhancing drugs in testimony given before another grand jury nearly four years ago.

The indictments were unsealed on Thursday against Bonds, who holds Major League Baseball's all-time record with 762 home runs, and are another tentacle of the case brought against employees and the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.

The investigation into the case against Bonds has spanned four years, three grand juries and led to the jailing of Greg Anderson, his former personal trainer, for refusing to testify against Bonds. Anderson was one of five people who was charged in the case and previously had served three months in prison and three months under house arrest in a plea bargain arrangement. Victor Conte, BALCO's president and founder, was the only other principal to go to jail.

The indictment charges Bonds with lying when he said that he didn't knowingly take steroids given to him by Anderson and lying when he denied taking steroids at anytime in 2001.

He's also charged with lying that Anderson never injected him with steroids, The Associated Press reported.

"During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes," the indictment reads.

Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement Thursday afternoon that he had not yet seen the details of the indictment, and while he understands everyone in the United States is innocent until proven otherwise, he takes it very seriously and will follow its progress closely.

"It is important that the facts regarding steroid use in baseball be known, which is why I asked [former U.S. Sen. George] Mitchell to investigate the issue. I look forward to receiving his report and findings so that we can openly address any issue associated with past steroid use.

"We currently have a testing program that is as good as any in professional sports, and the program is working. We continue to fund research to find an efficacious test for HGH and have banned amphetamines from our sport.

"We will continue to work diligently to eradicate the use of all illegal performance-enhancing substances from the game."

John Burris, one of Bonds' attorneys, told The Associated Press, "I'm surprised. There's been an effort to get Barry for a long time. I'm curious what evidence they have now they didn't have before."

Burris said that he did not know of the indictment before being alerted by the AP and said that he would immediately call Bonds to notify him.

"I was saddened to learn this afternoon of the indictment of Barry Bonds," said Don Fehr, the executive director of the Players Association. "However, we must remember, as the U.S. Attorney stated in his press release today, that an indictment contains only allegations, and in this country every defendant, including Barry Bonds, is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until such time as he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

The legal steps facing Bonds are most likely to be a petition for bail, which he'll almost undoubtedly be granted, followed by an arraignment where he'll enter a plea, and if that is a not guilty plea, then a trial date will be set.

Bonds had been widely suspected of using steroids, particularly during the years 1999 to 2002 when his power numbers increased and he broke Mark McGwire's single-season home run record by hitting 73 homers during the 2001 season.

Bonds, 43, has never admitted using steroids, and in fact, denied doing so in a recent interview with NBC's Jim Gray, saying "That's not true. That's not right and it's not fair to me."

Bonds was told by the Giants in September that his 15-year reign with the team was over and he would not be asked back. After the World Series, he filed for free agency and was hoping to play again next season.

But the steroid issue has hovered like a shroud over him.

He testified in front of the original BALCO grand jury in December 2003, and from that testimony perjury suspicions grew. When the transcript was illegally leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bonds said he may have unknowingly used topical steroids called "the cream" and "the clear." Bonds said he thought the substances were arthritis balm and flaxseed oil.

Bonds was one of several baseball players who were subpoenaed by that grand jury, including Gary Sheffield, now of the Tigers, and Jason Giambi of the Yankees.

Giambi's testimony, in which he admitted injecting himself with steroids, was also leaked to the Chronicle. This season, after he vaguely reiterated that admission to USA Today, Giambi was brought in front of attorneys for the Commissioner's Office. Under the threat of suspension from Selig, Giambi agreed to appear before the committee headed by Mitchell, which has been investigating baseball's so-called steroid era for the past 19 months.

Giambi is the only player known to testify in front Mitchell, whose report is suppose to be completed and made public by the end of year.

The Bonds indictment comes at a time when Major League Baseball is at its zenith in popularity, setting records this season in gross revenue ($6.075 billion) and attendance (79.5 million). It also comes at a time when nine former or active players, including Gary Matthews Jr. of the Angels and Rick Ankiel of the Cardinals, have been named in reports about the purchase of HGH, testosterone and human growth hormone through clinics in the south or pharmacies doing business on the Internet.

That probe, which is not linked to the BALCO case, has been conducted for the past two years by the Albany, N.Y., district attorney.

Bonds, though, is the first baseball player to be criminally indicted on steroid-related charges.

President Bush, a former baseball team owner who has spoken against steroid use, is "very disappointed to hear this," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "As this case is now in the criminal justice system, we will refrain from any further specific comments about it. But clearly this is a sad day for baseball."

Crapjob Sean

Take me out to the courtroom.