On Tuesday morning, after the jury was sworn in, the Barry Bonds trial kicked off with opening statements. Once those were complete, it was time to move on to witnesses. The prosecution called personal trainer Greg Anderson, but he refused to testify and was returned to custody. That brought Jeff Novitzky to the stand.
Barry Bonds Trial Concludes Tuesday With Jeff Novitzky On Stand
Novitzky was the government's lead investigator in the Balco case. He spent the first while on the stand discussing the investigation and how evidence was collected and all that. It was at least half an hour before he so much as mentioned Barry Bonds' name, and even after that, Bonds was more of an afterthought than a central character. The focus was more on what Balco was doing, and how Bonds seemed to have a relationship with Greg Anderson and Victor Conte.
So, there was a lot of talk about what Novitzky seized during the investigation. Novitzky also mentioned that, because of his connection, Bonds - along with about 30 other athletes - was called to testify to the Balco grand jury, and was given immunity. Novitzky said all the athletes were told the same thing: "The only thing you need to do is go in there and tell the truth."
The direct questioning concluded with Novitzky saying he found inconsistencies with the facts in Bonds’ testimony. That took us to the cross-examination, where Allen Ruby tried to discredit one of the government’s upcoming key witnesses. Novitzky wasn’t very cooperative, and Ruby reportedly grew somewhat frustrated, but the court adjourned with Novitzky still on the stand so we’ll get back to all this in the morning.
Follow along in this StoryStream for updates, and also get more information from SB Nation Bay Area’s Barry Bonds trial coverage, for which David Fucillo will be live-blogging - and live-tweeting - from the courtroom. You can follow on Twitter @SBNBayArea.
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