Feds end prosecution of Bonds

Representatives for Bonds and the Justice Department could not immediately be reached for comment.

The DOJ said in its court filing that the solicitor general would not appeal the case, meaning the reversal of Bonds’ conviction would stand.

The decade-long investigation and prosecution of Bonds for obstruction of justice ended quietly Tuesday morning when the DOJ said it would not challenge the reversal of his felony conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court. The San Francisco office obtained an indictment of Bonds in 2007, charging him with lying to a federal grand jury about performance-enhancing drug use.

The decision comes after a 10-1 ruling in April in which a federal court of appeals in San Francisco had overturned the former slugger’s 2011 conviction for obstructing justice.

Bonds was acquitted on all perjury charges at his original trial, and in April the US Court of Appeals overturned his conviction on the obstruction charge. But now, if we say “Barry Bonds committed no crimes”, we can know that the Feds agree – or at least that they didn’t feel his crimes were worth allocating any more taxpayer money toward.

The BALCO investigation also helped lead to the report by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, which called out many of baseball’s top players, including Roger Clemens, for alleged steroids use. “I was a celebrity child, not just in baseball by my own instincts”.

The jury deadlocked on three counts accusing Bonds of making false statements when he denied receiving steroids or human growth hormone or any substance that required a syringe for self-injection from the trainer, Greg Anderson.

The clearing of his criminal record could eventually pave the way for his entry into baseball’s Hall of Fame. His answer, which included him saying he became a “celebrity child with a famous father”, was ruled to be evasive and “served to divert the grand jury’s attention away from the relevant inquiry of the investigation”.

Bonds holds the single-season record of 73 home runs and the career mark of 762.

Bonds was convicted and sentenced to 30 days of home confinement, two years of probation, 250 hours of community service in youth-related activities and a $4,000 fine after being convicted in 2011. His tumultous battle in court has come to a conclusion and the conversation regarding his bid for the Hall of Fame will likely now be more of a pressing topic in the baseball world.