There are new developments in the federal perjury and obstruction of justice case against former Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants OF Barry Bonds. Originally faced with 11 felonies in the case, federal prosecutors opted to trim the amount of felonies down to five. The case was brought against Bonds in 2007 after he was accused of lying to a grand jury but federal prosecutors have had trouble bringing a case against him. This is the third time prosecutors have altered the indictment against Bonds.
Most of the troubles in the case stem from the refusal of Greg Anderson, Bonds' former trainer, to testify against the former slugger. One of the reasons for the drop in charges was the inability to authenticate alleged doping dates on a calendar without Anderson's direct testimony. Six perjury charges were dropped in the newest version of the indictment.
The main charges against Bonds are perjury charges stemming from his testimony that he was never injected by anyone except for his doctor and a catch-all obstruction of justice charge for "misleading grand jury testimony" if the perjury charges fail. A hearing was set for Friday regarding a tape recording between former Bonds associate Steve Hoskins and Anderson. Bonds was not required to attend the hearing.
If convicted, Bonds faces 50 years in prison, though he'll likely see less than two years behind bars if found guilty. Bonds has publicly stated his desire to have the recording thrown out of court. His trial is set to begin March 21.
Anderson does discuss an undetectable substance on the recording, but the nature of the substance beyond its undetectability is not further discussed. Bonds' attorneys argue that - like the calendar - the recording cannot be authenticated without Anderson's testimony.
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