Federal authorities end prosecution of Major League Baseball home run king

There was no immediate comment from Bonds, his attorney, the Justice Department or Major League Baseball.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April said prosecutors did not provide enough evidence that his statements were material to their investigation, and that Bonds could not be retried for obstruction.

And according to Tuesday’s filing, the U.S. Solicitor General, who, according to the Mercury News, makes final decisions on whether to appeal cases to a higher court (the U.S. Supreme Court in this instance), decided not to pursue any further Bonds and his appeal.

Bonds, who will turn 51 on Friday, was accused in a 2007 indictment of perjury and obstruction of justice in 2003 before a grand jury that was investigating the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs to athletes by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.

The all-time Major League Baseball home run leader had been convicted of obstruction of justice in 2011, but a federal appeals court later overturned the conviction. The grand jury was convened as part of an investigation into the BALCO steroids scandal.

In his 2003 testimony, Bonds admitted to the grand jury he had taken substances known as “the clear” and “the cream” from Anderson but said he thought they were flaxseed oil and arthritis ointment.

“That’s what keeps our friendship”, replied Bonds. I became a celebrity child with a famous father. Though the 9th Circuit’s ruling exposed confusion over the federal obstruction of justice law, it was not a good candidate for review by the U.S. Supreme Court because it generated four different opinions. “I just don’t get into other people’s business because of my father’s situation, you see”.

The response was in answer to a question as to whether his trainer, Greg Anderson, had ever given him anything to inject himself with.

Since his retirement, Bonds has all but completely faded out of the public eye.

After the 2011 conviction, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston sentenced Bonds to 30 days of home confinement, two years of probation, 250 hours of community service in youth-related activities and a $4,000 fine.

In 2001, the year he broke Mark McGwire’s single season home run record, Bonds jumped from 49 long balls the year before to 73.

The clearing of his criminal record could eventually pave the way for his entry into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Tuesday’s decision to drop the case against him is not likely to help him with Hall of Fame voters.