Barry Bonds has been indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. The so-called “BALCO Grand Jury” formalized the charges this afternoon after nearly eighteen months of work by this jury, adding to the time investigated by a previous grand jury and a multi-agency task force. More information soon.
** UPDATE: After reading the indictment, there are some interesting nuggets of information. Most notably, the indictment contains the first factual statement of Bonds and others having tested positive during the 2003 Survey testing conducted by MLB and seized by the government in 2005. Correction - it now appears that the positive test mentioned was a private test in 2000, rather than the 2003 survey test. I apologize for the error. Bonds was indicted on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction.
** UPDATE II: The indictment is now available at this link.
** UPDATE III: According to a source with knowledge of the Mitchell investigation, baseball’s investigators were given the names and dates of the positive tests mentioned in this indictment. These names are the same as those asked to testify in the initial hearings and include both current and former players. In the 2003 Survey, 96 players failed the test for a list of banned substances substantially smaller than the current banned list.
** UPDATE V: I’m not a lawyer, but Friend of BP Keith Scherer is. His take after reading the indictment (link above):
“1. Count 5 is redundant
Count 5 is really just another way of charging the perjury facts, in an attempt to tack on another 10 years of possible jail time.
2. Be careful when you read 18 USC 1503 or you’ll get confused
It says,
“Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, endeavors to influence, intimidate, or impede any grand or petit juror, or officer in or of any court of the United States ..”
But read it as
“Whoever corruptly endeavors to influence, intimidate, or impede any grand or petit juror, or officer in or of any court of the United States”
There is no issue with intimidation. You just have to read this code section being mindful of the “or” clauses. By lying he endeavored, etc.
3. What’s next — Bonds will turn himself in and set a schedule
He probably knows about the indictment and the pending warrant and probably has arranged to turn himself in and make his initial appearance tomorrow, no later than Monday. He’ll be notified of the charges at the appearance and discuss conditions of bond. If not at that hearing then at one that will shortly follow, they’ll discuss discovery schedules and other docketing issues. “
Hopefully, this answers the legal side of it and ends the rapid updates.
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