Barry Bonds and Steriods | Why The Perjury Case Against Barry Bonds Is Flawed

As I stated in my last post, I've read the 10-page indictment against Barry Bonds and hold that the Federal Government's charge of perjury is flimsy at best. Here's why; let's start with the definition of "Perjury":

Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. Perjury is a crime because the witness has sworn to tell the truth and, for the credibility of the court, witness testimony must be relied on as being truthful. Perjury is considered a serious offense as it can be used to usurp the power of the courts, resulting in miscarriages of justice. In the United States, for example, the general perjury statute under Federal law provides for a prison sentence of up to five years, and is found at 18 U.S.C. § 1621. See also 28 U.S.C. § 1746.

The problem is this, which comes from the indictment itself:

"having taken an oath to testify truthfully in a proceeding before a Grand Jury sitting in the Northern District of California, unlawfully, willfully, knowingly, and contrary to such oath, did make false material declarations,"

The problem rests in the use of the words "willfully" and "knowingly". The government's evidence must prove that Barry Bonds did indeed know that what he was being given was a steriod and willfully lied about it. He has testified -- and the information is in the indictment -- that he did not know what he was being given.

Plus, the other problem is that not every steriod was banned at the time. In other words, Bonds could have been given a legal steriod. If the Government's case does not make that distinction, it' fails. I must also add that one main problem with the work of San Francisco Chronicle writers Lance Williams and Mark Fairnu-Wada is that they fail to note the difference between "legal" and "illegal" steriods.

Bodybuilders use many legal steriods to "get big" and without fear of prosecution or arrest. Anabolic steroids, which build muscle, are controlled substances, whereas "Andro" which is what Mark McQuire and other baseball players have supposedly taken, is a hybrid substance and was under scrutiny for prohibtion by the FDA in 2004.

Which brings up another point: the time of focus of Bond's actions is between 2000 and 2003, not on or after 2004.

The other issue not adressed by the indictment is the matter of what was a legal drug at the time. If the Government and the FDA were not banning or prohibiting the use of many of the drugs listed in the indictment at the time Barry supposedly was given them, then it's even more possible he didn't know that what he was being given at the time was a now banned steriod, or for that matter a steriod. Victor Conte, the former head of BALCO, which distributed drugs to athletes, has said he never gave a banned steriod to Barry Bonds.

The Government may have errred here, as well. They can't switch between asking Bonds whether he lied about taking a banned substance or a legal substance. Then, there case not only looks bad, it begins to take on the appearance of an obvious witch hunt. In that instance, a jury in Northern California, where the suit was filed, would almost certainly consist of Bonds sympathizers, and the case would fail.

My bet is the Government's lawyers forgot to consider just what was a banned steriod and what was not at the time. Remember, much of this case calls for rebuilding what happened in the past. And even if the steriods were legal, again, Barry had even less reason to fear that what he took was not appropriate or that he actually knew that he was being given something illegal and of massive concern.

What the Government needs is more than just circumstantial evidence, as the Chronicle writers provide. It needs a document with Bonds handwriting on it that proves he visited and approved of the use of steriods. Without real, hard core evidence of that type -- and there's no sign it's there -- the Government could lose this case, big time.

I think they will.

The Barry Bonds Indictment - I've Read It; It's Weak At Best

As you may know by now, San Francisco Giants Slugger Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury before a federal grand jury. I've just read the indictment , and if this is what the government's basing its case on, even with evidence, it's shaky at best. I'll explain why in the next blog post, but here it is.

SCOTT N. SCHOOLS (SCBN 9990)
United States Attorney
E-filing
I
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION I
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, )
Plaintiff,
v.
BARRY LAMAR BONDS,
1
1 VIOLATIONS: 18 U.S.C. $ 1623(a)
) Pej ury; 18 U.S.C. 8 1503 - Obstruct~ono f
1 Justice
1 i sAN FRANCISCO VENUE
1
Defendant.
1
I N D I C T M E N T
The Grand Jury charges:
Backmound
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. The defendant, BARRY LAMAR BONDS ("Bonds"), was a Major League
Baseball player for the San Francisco Giants.
2. Balco Laboratories, Inc. ("Balco"), was a California corporation performing
blood-testing, among other functions. Balco was located in Burlingame, California.
3. Greg Anderson ("Anderson") was a personal athletic trainer whose clients
included numerous professional athletes, including Bonds. Anderson was affiliated with Balco
INDICTMENT
in that, among other things, he: obtained illegal drugs for later distribution to his clients
(including professional athletes); submitted biological specimens from his clients to Balco for
testing (including sending the specimens off to outside laboratories for analysis); and obtained
the laboratory analysis results of those specimens from Balco.
4. A federal criminal investigation ("the criminal investigation"), led by the Internal
Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division ("IRS-CID), commenced in the Northern
District of California concerning Balco's distribution of anabolic steroids and other illegal
performance-enhancing drugs and the related money laundering of proceeds from the drug
distributions. The criminal investigation initially resulted in an indictment and the convictions of
four defendants on federal charges, including illegal drug distribution and money laundering
offenses.
5. One focus of the criminal investigation, among others, concerned whether Balco,
Anderson, and others were engaged in illegal drug distribution and money laundering arising
from distributions of illegal drugs to professional athletes and others.
6. As part of the criminal investigation, on or about September 3, 2003, federal
search warrants, issued in the Northern District of California, were executed. Among other
things, investigators obtained evidence concerning Bonds and his relationship with Anderson and
Balco.
7. As part of the criminal investigation, several professional athletes, including but
not limited to Bonds, along with other witnesses, were subpoenaed before the Federal Grand Jury
to provide, among other things, testimony about their knowledge and involvement with Balco
and its employees, including but not limited to Victor Conte and James Valente, as well as any
relationship with Anderson.
8. On or about December 4,2003, Bonds testified before the Grand Jury. Bonds
received an Order of Immunity for his Grand Jury testimony, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 6003 and
28 C.F.R. 8 0.175, and was informed that pursuant to that order neither his testimony nor any
information directly or indirectly derived from his testimony could be used against him in any
criminal case except a prosecution for perjury, false declaration, or otherwise failing to comply
INDICTMENT 2
with the Court's order.
9. 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 professional athletes.
COUNT ONE: (18 U.S.C. 5 1623(a) - Perjury)
10. The factual allegations contained in paragraphs one through nine above are
incorporated herein as if set forth in full.
11. On or about December 4,2003, in the Northern District of California, the
defendant,
BARRY LAMAR BONDS,
having taken an oath to testify truthfully in a proceeding before a Grand Jury sitting in the
Northern District of California, unlawfully, willfully, knowingly, and contrary to such oath, did
make false material declarations, that is, he gave the following underlined false testimony:
Q: I know the answer - - let me ask you this again. I know we kind of got the into
this. Let me be real clear about this. Did he [Anderson] ever give you anything that you
knew to be a steroid? Did he ever give a steroid?
A: I don't think Greg would do anything like that to me and jeopardize our
friendship. I just don't think he would do that.
Q: Well, when you say you don't think he would do that, to your knowledge, 1 mean,
did you ever take any steroids that he gave you?
(a) A: Not that I know of.
................................
Q: Okay. So, 1 got to ask, Mr. Bonds. There's this number associated on a document
with your name, and corresponding to Barry B. on the other document, and it does have
these two listed anabolic steroids as testing positive in connection with it. Do you follow
my question?
A: I follow where you're going, yeah.
Q: So, 1 guess I got to ask the question again, I mean, did you take steroids? And
INDICTMENT 3
I1 Q: - - or anything like that?
2
3
5 11 (0) A: No, 1 wasn't at all. I've never seen these documents. I've never seen these
and months leading up to November 2000, were you taking steroids - -
(b) A: No.
8 I Q: So, starting in December 2001, on this page. again, there's BB here, which
6
7
obviously are consistent with your initials; correct?
A: He could know other BBs.
Q: Correct.
But BB would also be your initials; is that correct.
A: That's correct.
................................
papers.
................................
Q: Okay. Were you obtaining testosterone from Mr. Anderson during this period of
time?
(d) A: Not at all.
................................
Q: In January 2001 were you taking either the flax seed oil or the cream?
A: No.
Q: And were you taking any other steroids?
(e) A: No.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1623(a).
/I/
Nl
IN
//I
Ill
INDICTMENT
12. The factual allegations contained in paragraphs one through nine above are
incorporated herein as if set forth in full.
13. On or about December 4,2003, in the Northern District of California, the
defendant,
BARRY LAMAR BONDS,
having taken an oath to testify truthfully in a proceeding before a Grand Jury sitting in the
Northern District of California, unlawfully, willfully, knowingly, and contrary to such oath, did
make false material declarations, that is, he gave the following underlined false testimony:
Q: Did Greg ever give you anything that required a syringe to inject yourself with?
A: I've only had one doctor touch me. And that's my only personal doctor.
Greg, like 1 said, we don't get into each others' personal Iives. We're friends, but I don't
- we don't sit around and talk baseball, because he knows I don't want - don't come to
my house talking basebalI. If you want to come to my house and talk about fishing, some
other stuff, we'll be good friends. You wme around talking about baseball, you go on. I
don't talk about his business. You know what 1 mean?
................................
Q: So no one else other than perhaps the team doctor and your personal physician has
ever injected anything in to you or taken anything out?
A: WeIl, there's other doctors from surgeries. I can answer that question, if you're
getting technical like that. Sure, there are other people that have stuck needles in me and
have drawn out - - I've had a bunch of surgeries, yes.
Q: So - -
A: So sony.
Q: - - the team physician, when you've had surgery, and your own personal
physician. But no other individuals like Mr. Anderson or any associates of his?
(a) A:
................................
INDICTMENT 5
Q: And, again, 1 guess we've covered this, but - - and did he [Anderson] ever give
you anything that he told you had to be taken with a needle or syringe?
A: Greg wouldn't do that. He knows I'm against that stuff. So, he would never
come up to me - - he would never jeopardize our fnendship like that.
Q: Okay. So, just so I'm clear, the answer is no to that, he never gave you anything
like that?
(b) A: &g&
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1623(a).
COUNT THREE: (18 U.S.C. S 1623(a) - Perjury)
14. The factual allegations contained in paragraphs one through nine above are
incorporated herein as if set forth in full.
15. On or about December 4,2003, in the Northern District of California, the
defendant,
BARRY LAMAR BONDS,
having taken an oath to testify truthfully in a proceeding before a Grand Jury sitting in the
Northern District of California, unlawfully, willfully, knowingly, and contrary to such oath, did
make false material declarations, that is, he gave the foIlowing underlined false testimony:
Q: All right. Did Greg ever talk to you or give you anything called human growth
hormone?
(a) A: &
.................................
Q: And, again, just to be clear and then 1'11 leave it, but he [Anderson] never gave
you anything that you understood to be human growth hormone? Did he ever give you
anything like that?
(b) A: No.
.................................
Q: And were you obtaining growth hormone from Mr. Anderson?
(c) A: Not at all.
INDICTMENT 6
Q: In January of 2002, then, again, just to be clear, you weren't getting any
testosterone or growth hormone from Mr. Anderson during that period of time?
d) A: No.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1623(a).
:OUNT FOUR: (18 U.S.C. 1623(a) - Perjury)
16. The factual allegations contained in paragraphs one through nine above are
ncorporated herein as if set forth in full.
17. On or about December 4, 2003, in the Northern District of California, the
lefendant,
BARRY LAMAR BONDS,
laving taken an oath to testify truthfully in a proceeding before a Grand Jury sitting in the
$orthem District of California, unlawfully, willfully, knowingly, and contrary to such oath, did
nake false material declarations, that is, he gave the following underlined false testimony:
Q: Let me ask the same question about Greg at this point, we'll go into this in a little
bit more detail, but did you ever get anything else from Greg besides advice or tips on
your weight lifting and also the vitamins and the proteins that you already referenced?
A: This year, in 2003 - - at the end of 2002,2003 season, when I was going through -
-my dad died of cancer, you know, and everyone knows that.
Q: Yes. I'm sorry about that.
A: And everyone tries to give me everything. You got companies that provide us
with more junk to try than anything. And you know that as well.
I was fatigued, tired, just needed recovery, you know. And this guy says: "Try
this cream, try this cream." And Greg came to the ballpark and he said, you know: "This
will help you recover," and he rubbed some cream on my arm, like, some lotion-type
stuff, and, like, gave me some flax seed oil, that's what he called it, called it some flax
seed oil, man. It's, like: " Whatever, dude."
And 1 was at the ballpark, whatever, I don't care. What's lotion going to do to
NDICTMENT 7
me? How many times have I heard that: "This is going to rub into you and work." Let
him be happy. We're friends. You how?
Q: When did that happen for the first time?
A: Not until 2003. this season.
................................
Q: And - - all right. So, how many times approximately do you think you got these
tubes with what Mr. Anderson told you was flax seed oil?
A: Maybe once a home stand or something, if that. Greg didn't travel with me on the
road. So, I was at home, when I came home.
Q: And the first time was the beginning of this year's season, in 2003?
A: Yes. 2003, because I was battling with the problems with my father and the - -just
the lack of sleep, lack of everything.
................................
Q: Mr. Anderson had never given you anything or asked you to take anything before
the 2003 season; is that right?
A: We never had those discussions. We don't discuss about his -- you how, part of
his world of business is his business. My business is my business. So, we don't --
Q: I'm asking --
A: No.
Q: That's not my question. My question is - -
A: No.
Q: - -prior to the last season, you never took anything that he asked you to take, other
than vitamins?
A: Right. We didn't have anv other discussions.
Q: No oils like this or anything like this before?
A: No, no, no. not at all. Not at all.
................................
Q: Okay. So, first of all, Mr. Bonds, 1 guess 1 want to recheck with you or ask you
INDICTMENT 8
again exactly when you started getting the - - what 1'11 call the recovery items, what you
understood to be flax seed oil and the cream, when you started getting that from Greg
Anderson. I think that you said - - but please correct me if I'm wrong - - that you thought
it was prior to this current baseball season.
But let me ask, 1 mean, is it possible it's actually a year before, after the 2000 - -
well, actually two years before, after the 2001 season? Because this first calendar is dated
December 2001 with "BB" on it and its got a number of entries that I'd like to ask you
about.
Were you getting items during that period of time from Greg?
A: No. Like I said. I don't recall having anvthing like this at all during that time of
year. It was toward the end of 2000, after the WorId Series, you know, when my father
was going through cancer.
................................
Q: In December 2001.
And what about the - - the clear - - either the clear or the cream, were you getting
either of those substances in December of 2001 from Mr. Anderson?
A: No. Like I said. I recaIl it beine toward the end of 2002 - - 2002, after 2002
season.
Q: Okay.
A: And that's what I recall.
................................
Q: And you weren't getting this flax seed oil stuff during that period of time [January
2002]?
A: Not that I can recall. Like I sav. I could be wrong. But I'm - - I'm - - going from
my recollection it was. like. in the 2002 time and 2003 season.
in vioIation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1623(a).
Ill
Ill
INDICTMENT
COUNT FIVE: (1 8 U.S.C. 5 I503 - Obstruction of Justice)
18. The factuaI allegations contained in paragraphs one through nine above are
incorporated herein as if set forth in full.
19. On or about December 4,2003, in the Northern District of California, and
elsewhere, the defendant,
11 unlawfully, willfully, and knowinglByA, dRidR Yco LmApMtlAy Ren BdeOaNvoDr Sto, influence, obstn~cta, nd impede 11 the due administration ofjustice, by knowingly giving Grand JUT testimony that was
1) intentionally evasive, false, and misleading, that is:
(a) The false statements made by the defendant as charged in Counts 1-4 of this
indictment; and
(b) Evasive and misleading testimony.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1503.
A TRUE BILL.
,
I 1 SCOTT N. SCHOOLS United States Attorney