Barry Bonds, baseball's controversial home run king, displaced Henry Aaron in the record book in August. Now, he joins less distinguished company: prominent Americans, including Martha Stewart and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who have been prosecuted for lying during a federal investigation.
A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted Bonds on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction alleging that he "knowingly and willfully" made material false statements regarding his use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances during his grand jury testimony in the long-running probe into the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative, known as BALCO.
Bonds was given a grant of immunity during his 2003 testimony guaranteeing that nothing he said, and no information derived directly or indirectly from his statements, could be used against him in any criminal trial.
But there was one big exception: If he committed perjury or made a false declaration, he could be charged. Although an indictment is merely an allegation, Bonds now faces the possibility of spending several years in prison.
Veteran Los Angeles defense lawyer Brian O'Neill said he didn't believe prosecutors were "going after" Bonds "to get him one way or another. . . . This is not like Al Capone," he said, referring to the Chicago mobster convicted on tax charges. O'Neill had a client who was called before the BALCO grand jury, gave testimony and was not indicted.
"The prosecutors were very honorable" O'Neill said. "It was my impression they were seeking to make a case on BALCO and Victor Conte for supplying steroids and HGH," human growth hormone.
"They were disappointed and surprised at Bonds' answers," O'Neill said. "They expected Answer A and they got Answer B."
Nonetheless, several legal experts emphasized that proving a perjury case is not an easy task.
"Most criminal lawyers will tell you perjury is the single hardest thing to prove," said San Francisco defense lawyer Doron Weinberg.
Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said prosecutors have to show that Bonds "knowingly lied" and did not merely misspeak or stumble after misunderstanding the questions.
Bonds has stated that he used a product called "the clear" that he received from longtime personal trainer Greg Anderson but said that he was told it was flaxseed oil. "They need to show that he knew darn well that he was using steroids and not just some kind of exotic cream," Levenson said.
