Bonds’ prosecution turns to persecution


Maybe the U.S. prosecutors didn’t make their college baseball teams. Maybe Barry Bonds was rude to their nephews who’d adoringly begged for an autograph.

Whatever the cause, the prosecutors persecuting Bonds have moved from aggressive investigation to obsession.

 
Photo by Kevin Rushforth

Forget the estimated millions of dollars it’s cost taxpayers to go after the ex-San Francisco Giants slugger. Put aside the fact that steroid use was ignored by professional baseball for years as it was benefitting from the popularity of high-scoring games.

Let’s look at Bonds’ alleged crime. He is charged with lying to a grand jury when he said he did not knowingly use a banned substance. How can prosecutors prove what he knew and didn’t know?

He could have told his trainer not to tell him what he was giving him. I won’t ask. You don’t tell.

Speaking of his trainer, the man has already spent a year in jail rather than testify against Bonds and last week told the judge he would return to jail. His lawyer says he feels betrayed after he kept his part of a deal and the U.S Attorney’s office continued to press him to testify.

And the trainer’s wife. The FBI sent an undercover pregnant agent to the gym where she works to try to get the goods on Bonds. After she only revealed she thought he was a jerk, they’ve threatened her with legal action around her finances unless she convinces her husband to testify.

And the trainer’s wife’s mother. The feds have similarly threatened her.

There are a lot of law enforcement tactics that us laypeople would probably find unappealing.

Maybe if Bonds were the head of a Mafia family or a terrorist network. But a baseball player? These strong-arm tactics against people with no involvement in the alleged crime are hardly justified in this case.

And after the judge threw out most of the so-called evidence, the prosecutors decided to appeal. Most legal experts don’t expect the appeal to succeed. It will further delay the case, making it almost certain Bonds will never play professional baseball again because of the charges hanging over him.

The case against Bonds is more than an embarrassing, waste of money. It’s a shocking example of prosecutorial excess.  We need an investigation of the investigation.

For audio version of the piece, click here.

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