Justice Department is Dropping Its Battle Against Barry Bonds

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

A jury convicted Bonds in 2011 of obstruction of justice for giving a meandering answer to a federal grand jury when asked about injections.

Bonds’ legal battle started in 2003 when his name surfaced in connection with BALCO. An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that conviction in April, and the government had until Wednesday to file for a Supreme Court review.

The Justice Department was left with the option of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was probably unlikely to hear the case.

“That’s what keeps our friendship”, Bonds said at the time.

“The DOJ could have asked the high court to take the case”, the AP report noted.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April said Bond’s answer when asked whether Anderson ever injected him with steroids didn’t amount to obstruction.

Bonds was initially convicted for obstruction of justice based on his testimony before a federal grand jury in 2003.

Now the question is, could this clearing of his criminal record spark him finally gaining entry into baseball’s Hall of Fame? Clemens was acquitted in 2012 on all charges that he obstructed and lied to Congress in denying he used performance-enhancing drugs. The court held the answer was not “material” to the intensive federal investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs in the San Francisco Bay area. The investigation netted a number of convictions and prison terms, including BALCO mastermind Victor Conte, but it appears the superstar considered the biggish fish got away in the end.

In 2007, Bonds retired from baseball with 762 career home runs, which broke the previous record of 755 set by Hank Aaron. 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. A player must garner at least 75 percent of the vote to be elected.