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San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds is mobbed by teammates after hitting his 756th career home run passing Hank Aaron for the all time home run record against the Washington Nationals at AT&T Park in San Francisco on August 7, 2007. (UPI Photo/Terry Schmitt)

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge in San Francisco ruled Friday that the grand jury testimony of Barry Bonds should be made public.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston signed an order that, barring appeal, will lead to the release of testimony Bonds gave under oath in December 2003. It is that testimony that eventually led to his indictment in November on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Bonds was released by the San Francisco Giants at the end of the 2007 season, during which he became baseball's all-time home run record holder with 762.

Bonds told the grand jury he did not knowingly take steroids during his career. The testimony came during an investigation into activities involving the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO).

Although there has been some interest expressed by the Tampa franchise in signing the 43-year-old Bonds for the 2008 season, he is not currently on any roster. He has 2,935 hits in his career and has scored 2,227 runs, third most in big league history.