Anderson meets with grand jury, then judge

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds' personal trainer left federal court with his legal team Thursday after shuttling between secret grand jury hearings and closed-door appearances before a judge.

Greg Anderson was ordered to testify before a federal grand jury investigating Bonds on suspicion of perjury and tax evasion. His attorneys had promised that he would not testify and instead would fight the subpoena and go to prison if necessary.

His two appearances before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who barred the public from entering, suggested that Anderson followed through on his vow of silence, and that White postponed his imprisonment pending a legal fight. A similar scenario played out in June, leading up to Anderson's July 5 incarceration for two weeks after he declined to testify before a different grand jury investigating Bonds.

Prosecutors and Anderson's lawyers declined comment.

Leading to Thursday, Anderson's defense team was saying the trainer had no intention of testifying in the case against the San Francisco Giants' slugger and was prepared for his third prison stay in less than a year.

Anderson declined to comment as he entered the grand jury room just before 9 a.m. with attorney Matthew Geragos. The two again declined comment when they emerged about 90 minutes later and entered a nearby courtroom for the first closed-door hearing before White.

Anderson returned to the grand jury room around 2 p.m., and minutes later was back in White's courtroom for another sealed hearing. He later left without commenting.

Anderson was released from prison last week on the same day prosecutors announced a grand jury investigating Bonds had expired without issuing an indictment. A new grand jury quickly was assembled, and Anderson received what was believed to be the first subpoena -- ordering him to appear before the panel Thursday..

Authorities are investigating whether Bonds lied under oath when he told an earlier grand jury he didn't know whether the substances given to him by Anderson were steroids. The probe also reportedly is focused on whether Bonds paid taxes on the sale of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sports memorabilia.

Anderson's next legal move was not immediately known.

"They're harassing Greg Anderson to get to Barry," said Bonds' attorney, Michael Rains, in a recent interview.

If Anderson again refused to testify, the judge is likely to find him in contempt of court and send him back to prison for a third time.

Anderson also served three months after pleading guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering stemming from the government's investigation of the Bay Area lab that allegedly supplied Bonds and other elite athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.