Now that Jason Giambi has kinda sorta given in to MLB’s threats of “speak or else” it’s time to see if baseball will cave to some tough talk. Barry Bonds’ attorney Michael Rains is claiming to have information that “raises questions about the government’s investigation of the baseball star”, and he will go public unless the gov’t backs off of his client.
Michael Rains says he submitted letters on 3 different occassions to interim U.S. Attorney Scott Schools. Attorney Schools has taken over for former U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan who was one of the 8 U.S. Attorneys fired by Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. Regardless of who is in charge, Michael Rains has some things to get off of his chest:
“The public has the right to know of the information I have given to Mr. Schools. And it has a right to know how the government has conducted itself here and I hope the government will engage in some dialogue with the media and the public to discuss this.”
The thing that bothers me is Rains seems to be saying he’ll only play the “secret info” card if Bonds is indicted. That’s lame. Mr. Rains, show us what you got.. Bring it out, tell ’em why you mad, SPILL THE BEANS.
Has the government been trying to frame Barry Bonds? Have they tried to persuade witnesses? I wanna know the deal. Do the letters have something to do with Kevin Ryan being fired as a U.S. Attorney and lead prosecutor in the BALCO case? Tell us. It’s no secret that Ryan’s handling of the BALCO case was often criticized, by Bonds’ supporters and Kevin Ryan’s fellow prosecutors.
Last July, Ryan also decided not to seek an indictment of Bonds for perjury, choosing instead to transfer the case to a new grand jury for more investigation. Ryan had hoped to pressure Greg Anderson, Bonds’ trainer and a BALCO defendant, to testify against Bonds. But the trainer refused and has been imprisoned for contempt of court since before Thanksgiving.
The strategy was contested by some of Ryan’s own prosecutors, who believed they had enough evidence to indict Bonds without Anderson’s testimony, according to sources familiar with the case. Officials from the Internal Revenue Service and FBI unsuccessfully lobbied the Justice Department for an indictment, The Chronicle has reported.
When asked if his dealings with the BALCO case were the reason for him getting the boot, Ryan replied:
“It’s a complicated issue. I had almost exclusive control of this case for most of its history. In the latter stages, there seemed some interest coming out of D.C. that wasn’t present at the beginning.”
To be honest I have no idea where Michael Rains is going with his threat to the Roid Rangers. I don’t know whether he has an info bomb to drop, or if he’s just trying to justify being on Barry’s payroll. What I do know is that all of these passive aggressive threats lack balls. If you got the goods, give ’em up. If not, shut up.
For a more in-depth look at the Bonds stories check out this story. Courtesy of The Starting Five
Report: Giambi will agree to talk — with conditions. Courtesy of ESPN.com
Lawyer says he has evidence of wrongdoing in Bonds probe. Courtesy of ESPN.com
Prosecutor reflects on BALCO firestorm. Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle
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