The Chris Moeller Archives

The United States v. Barry Bonds

The Nation's Dave Zirin has been virtually a one-man media campaign in exposing the criminal assault on baseball slugger Barry Bonds by the United States Justice Department.

After seven years of investigation, the Justice Dept. arrived in court this week with virtually no case against Bonds. A judge called the investigative actions of IRS agent Jeff Novitzky "a callous disregard" for constitutional rights. Novitzky and seven agents, carrying a warrant for the medical records of 10 baseball players in the BALCO case had claimed 4,000 sealed medical files from the nation's largest sports drug-tester, Comprehensive Drug Testing. Three federal judges had demanded that the files be returned, and Novitzky failed to do it.

Bonds' perjury charge was based on his statements before a grand jury that anything he took illegally was done without his prior knowledge, and the only person that could contradict him was his trainer and friend, Greg Anderson, who has steadfastly refused to testify against him, despite being imprisoned for 13 months by the Justice Dept. Anderson is a great friend, for sure, but he's also partly refused to testify because he claims the feds promised he wouldn't have to testify if he agreed to plead guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering in 2005, which he did.

In January, the feds raided the home of Anderson's mother-in-law and threatened to punish her for tax evasion, and similar threats have been made against his wife as well. "Even the mafia spares the women and children," says Anderson's attorney.

After almost all of the prosecution's case was ruled inadmissible this week, the feds are basically armed now with only a claim by Bonds' former mistress about the alleged "shriveling" of the slugger's testicles. The case has been delayed until at least July as the prosecution considers its appeal. It's all been a pathetic display of investigation ineptitude and criminal government overreach, as well as the waste of a hell of a lot of taxpayer money.

---

That Anheuser Busch/InBev merger is working out great. At least, we don't have to list this one as another American company that's tanking, only one with American workers.

posted by CM @ 8:36 AM