The Associated Press reports today that prosecutors have closed the investigation into possible doping by seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
United States Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. announced in a press release that his office "is closing an investigation into allegations of federal criminal conduct by members and associates of a professional bicycle racing team owned in part by Lance Armstrong." He didn't disclose the reason for the decision.
The Grand Jury convened in Los Angeles and sought to uncover whether Armstrong had created a doping program at his U.S. Postal team. Jeff Novitzky who investigated the baseball stars Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds led the Armstrong investigation.
During the course of the Grand Jury investigation, the Grand Jury subpoened ex-teammates, team officials, and friends of Armstrong. One of the stronger accusations came in May 2011, when Tyler Hamilton appeared on 60 Minutes and said he saw Armstrong use doping products during the Tour de France.
Armstrong has not yet commented on the closure of the investigation.
0 recs | 114 comments
It's time for my favorite part about cycling journalists
Where a journalist will write a whole article based on a single Armstrong tweet.
lieutenantmudd - February 3, 2012
What did he tweet?!
PLEASE TELL ME NOOOOOOWWWWW!!!
Chris Fontecchio - February 3, 2012
I don't follow him
And to be fair, they do it for other riders too. You read a whole article and stop realize that the only original, new content in the article came from a single tweet.
lieutenantmudd - February 3, 2012
yeah
I’m out of that game.
Chris Fontecchio - February 3, 2012
Good riddance to this
I think Lance’s battle for hearts and minds has been lost on the bike (though won in the cancer world). Do we need a federal investigation piling on? Are we out of things to federally investigate?
Chris Fontecchio - February 3, 2012
adding
If Lance were still active I’d feel otherwise, but 2005 was forever ago. [Boonen fans cringe when I say that.]
Chris Fontecchio - February 3, 2012
It wasn't that lang ago! He can still win!
tgsgirl - February 3, 2012
+12
jsallee00 - February 3, 2012
hehe
tedvdw - February 3, 2012
I had no idea you were such a fan of Lance.
omnevelnihil - February 3, 2012
I dissent in part
I think the case had some merits, but I never want to hear about it again. From the Feds or the USADA.
lieutenantmudd - February 3, 2012
Possibly
But my concern is more a matter of prosecutorial discretion and the limits of the US Attorneys’ resources. A long, drawn-out trial over whether Lance took PEDs in an era of unchecked PED use, and how the USPS is shocked, shocked! at this possibility… Just make it stop.
Chris Fontecchio - February 3, 2012
Question
Does this just end the ‘did he dope’ debate, or also the ‘did he use tax payer’s money to buy the dope’ debate?
tgsgirl - February 3, 2012
the latter
But really, isn’t the former done and dusted? Or do I have to make another rule?
Chris Fontecchio - February 3, 2012
Neither
but, God, just make it stop.
Le Sprinteur - February 3, 2012
+1
Ryan_Liles - February 3, 2012
"Just make it stop"
Yes.
lieutenantmudd - February 3, 2012
Agree.. As long as Lance is not going to start his "I've never used dope"
With his 42 medical certificates(?)
Frinking - February 3, 2012
No. It ends now regardless of what he says.
ursula - February 3, 2012
Please let this be THE END.
Soooooooooo over this shit.
JustJoshinYa - February 3, 2012
No such luck,
the USDA is going to continue to beat this dead horse so three quarters of the so called journalist who cover cycling will still have a job.
Dustbunny8 - February 3, 2012
Just don't see the Dept. of Agriculture wailing on this horse!! (USDA vs USADA)
Sorry, couldn’t resist!!
2thvet - February 3, 2012
Dead Horse......I refuse to resemble that remark
LooseHorse - February 4, 2012
!!
.
tedvdw - February 4, 2012
Very Glad : )
Pardon my spelling error,this subject has gone on so long I’m old and can’t see sp\o good!
Dustbunny8 - February 4, 2012
Even Bjarne Riis (aka Dr. Evil) had the decency to come clean eventually.
Part of me would quite happily see the whole Armstrong case put to bed – I mean those who really know cycling know anyway, but it would be nice to hear a confession wouldn’t it.
I’m fantasising again aren’t I…..!
PrinceBuster - February 3, 2012
yup
You might get a deathbed confession, but since Lance is, what, 40? My guess is it’s not gonna be worth the wait.
Chris Fontecchio - February 3, 2012
Not going to happen
It is all about the brand, and he is tied to the brand.
To hear some people talk, all cancer research as we know it will grind to a halt if LiveStrong ceases to exist, and anything such as the confession you are asking for would, according to the masses, lead to the extinction of LiveStrong.
It’s all BS, but since when have the facts had much to do with the Church of Lance?
muk - February 3, 2012
maybe extinction of Livestrong, but not cancer research...just waaaay to many people envolved
LooseHorse - February 4, 2012
And how much this lead to nowhere BS cost us? ( American’s taxpayers )
holmovka - February 3, 2012
The Gand Jury to Nowhere.
JustJoshinYa - February 3, 2012
How much the cost. My answer, 2 damn (as in too damn much!!)
2thvet - February 3, 2012
2thvet,
completely unrelated, but made me think of you
ant1 - February 3, 2012
USADA
The USADA seems likely to have a go. There’s that pesky rule about non-analytic positives, you know. Probably not over yet, I’m afraid.
Jen See - February 3, 2012 via mobile
Also
I defo appreciated the timing. 5pm east coast, super bowl weekend :D
Jen See - February 3, 2012 via mobile
They could have at least refrained from raining on opening weekend of FSA DS...
JustJoshinYa - February 3, 2012
Yeah
Over the line, USDA!
Jens - February 3, 2012
You mean
VDSFSA weekend?That’s the way to bury the story at PdC for sure
paisley - February 3, 2012
This could go down as his biggest win.
sminer - February 3, 2012
+1
holmovka - February 3, 2012
+2
Seahorse - February 3, 2012
I'm glad this is done and dusted. He lost any vestiges of respect I had for him during the 2009 TdF.
Livestrong exists separately for me. Whether it feeds Armstrong’s ego or not, I’m glad that it is safe.
Seahorse - February 3, 2012
It is works! Thank you Gavia for posting this!
Your post broke the spell! It took my attention away of " Submit your team" button!
But for how long?
holmovka - February 3, 2012
Next announcement coming soon…
Contador Free to Ride
sminer - February 3, 2012
Here's hopin'
sebastiandeluded - February 3, 2012
Yeah! I am hopin’ and my heart is skippin’
holmovka - February 3, 2012
Handwriting was on the wall when the Bonds thing flopped....
…and it seems that Novitsky may well have been off the reservation in some genuinely serious ways.
As much as I despise Armstrong, this is probably as it should be. Witch hunts and out of control prosecutors are bad, regardless of anything else.
Ed K - February 3, 2012
Nothing could be scarier, then out of control prosecutors! IMO
holmovka - February 3, 2012
To be correct, Novitsky's an investigator, not a prosecutor...
…but yeah. There have been some things written about what he’s been up to that are worry-inducing, to say the least.
Ed K - February 3, 2012
what is
an out of control prosecutor? I guess I know but it still seems funny to me. I mean, either you have evidence of a crime or you don’t.
Chris Fontecchio - February 3, 2012
Out of Control
That is – investigating on no or extremely minor evidence. Investigating because of political consideration. Iinvestigating to pressure and attack someone who showed a large political donor of your party was causing harm. All of these are out of control and all are currently happening.
Markk - February 4, 2012
Or investigating celebrities to make a name for yourself.
I’ve always felt that was Novitzky’s motivation. I think Ed K. is right that the Bonds verdict took the wind out of Novitzky’s sails. Also I think that, since the investigation started, the continuing barrage of doping revelations (Contador in particular) has changed the public reaction from “Lance doped?
” to “Lance doped… so what?”
tgartner - February 4, 2012
Hrm... that was supposed to say "Lance doped? Oh my god!"
tgartner - February 4, 2012
Oh the irony
Let’s not forget that Lance Inc burst onto the scene as a breath of fresh (as in dope free) air following the Festina Affair, still probably the single biggest day in cycling-doping history.
muk - February 4, 2012
What Markk and tgartner say pretty much captures what I had in mind.
The Joe Lindsey piece I link to below also makes clear how tenuous the legal theory underlying the investigation may have been all along. I get the Al Capone tax evasion counter-example, but I feel as if that’s pretty forced on a whole lot of levels.
Also, at this point, I completely agree with you that the best thing that could possibly happen is for this, and Armstrong, to be forgotten about.
Ed K - February 4, 2012
Ok I agree about Lance
but this investigation looked promising in that it wasn’t focused solely on him but the whole entourage around him. And since so many of them are still active in and around the sport what we are losing is the opportunity to weed out a bunch of people poisoning the sport .That to me was why it was worth slogging through this miserable, endless soapopera. Instead they will be left in peace to fuck up coming generations of riders as well.
(and no, I don’t think the ADAs are going to get that job done)
Jens - February 4, 2012
That's very unfortunate.
Continue to punish the small fries while the big fish fly.
Lame.
LawrenceS - February 3, 2012
Couldn't we please have one last visit from ELPMO,
at least?
paisley - February 3, 2012
+1 Sminer, where are you?
Seahorse - February 3, 2012
Sorry, what the heck is an "ELPMO"?
2thvet - February 3, 2012
We have to wait for Sminer to return. I promise it's worth it :)
Seahorse - February 4, 2012
(Everthing Lance Pisses Me Off)
or so I was told long ago.
ZoeRochelle - February 4, 2012
Willj - February 4, 2012
Lindsey suggests that they may never have had a legal basis for prosecution...
…link.
Ed K - February 3, 2012
I've got so much more anti-dopers
ever since I got piles.
Why do I have to suffer and they don’t. It’s so unfair. Boo fucking hoo.
djlovesyou - February 3, 2012
Dammit Lance
always trying to upstage Bert!
Phil H. - February 3, 2012
rec'd
Ed K - February 3, 2012
Bear in mind, this all started after the Floyd Landis interview
In the fucking Wall Street Journal, which is owned by the News Corp., who also happens to own Sky Media; we know who they sponsor.
The Lance witch-hunt was all about damaging an adversary on the eve of the 2010 TdF, because Team Sky was worried that Bradley Wiggins was going to have a hard time competing against Lance.
Of course, it all ended up being a wash – Lance was clearly past his prime, and Bradley was not up to the task, either.
In so far as the USADA goes, why doesn’t Travis Tygart spend his time investigating currently active athletes – like all the HGH fueled NFL/NBA robo-missiles. I mean seriously, how enormous is Mr. Tygart’s ego?
ManBicycleThing - February 3, 2012 via mobile
OMG...a new conspiracy theory...you're surely not serious? Good grief.
Seahorse - February 4, 2012
Sorry, I loathe and despise Murdoch
And he’s one of the reasons I find it difficult to like Team Sky whole heartedly. But are you serious? Murdoch tried to bring down Lance to protect Bradley in the Tour? I mean, which planet is that happening on?
Retancourt - February 4, 2012 via mobile
+100...to all of what you say.
Seahorse - February 4, 2012
That is totally crazy and over the top...
I.e. just the kind of thing Murdoch and his minions would do!
tgartner - February 4, 2012
You think Murdoch knows he owns a cycling team? Really?
Seahorse - February 4, 2012
Well, he might have heard about it on some of those phone calls his people hacked...
tgartner - February 4, 2012
It would all be beneath Rupert...sport! Ergh.
Seahorse - February 4, 2012
Too bad he was the only celeb whose phone Newscorp forgot to tap.
Could have been some good looks-like-mom, blond celebrity gossip.
Willj - February 4, 2012
the question, "Did he do an Olson tiwn or not?" might have been answered.
ZoeRochelle - February 4, 2012
The answer would have been just as frustrating...
“I think so, but I couldn’t say for sure which one.”
omnevelnihil - February 4, 2012
i always assumed
when speaking of the olsen twins, we were speaking of the olsen twins. Not an olsen twin. Let’s hope these evil rumors aren’t true or it’s the last straw for me as far as lance goes.
yeehoo - February 5, 2012
The evil rumors that he just did one?
Jens - February 5, 2012
yep
i mean what’s the big deal of one olsen twin? A seven time tour winner should be able to do better than that.
yeehoo - February 5, 2012
Not without performance enhancers...
omnevelnihil - February 6, 2012
I'm just glad we've all been spared the media circus that any trial would have been
Katiek - February 3, 2012
Occupy Lance
I am wearing my US Postal kit backwards in protest.
Willj - February 4, 2012
The bibshorts too?
um…ewww.
swells - February 4, 2012
Good protection in case of cockpunching
Jens - February 4, 2012
any cp reference gets a rec
plinytheelder - February 4, 2012
Beyond a reasonable doubt
such a tricky standard of proof. Go civil suit – maybe with USADA leading the way. “Comfortbale satisfaction” much less onerous, if not quite as damning. Worked with OJ Simpson (even if he didn’t pay up)
andrewp - February 4, 2012
That's the standard for a conviction.
The standard for issuing an indictment is far lower. It’s a cliche that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to issue an indictment against a ham sandwich for a reason. This suggests there was very little hard evidence or the prosecutor wasn’t very interested in getting an indictment.
Kayle - February 4, 2012
I'm assuming since there is a fair bit of politics involved
that in a ultra-high profile case such as this any prosecutor would want to be pretty damn sure to get a conviction from the evidence he has in order to void a humiliating defeat. So I’d assume that unless the decision was based on other factors it doesn’t mean there was " very little hard evidence". There might have been very good evidence, just not good enough to make it a slam-dunk case.
Jens - February 5, 2012
or - speaking of politics -
some pressure from powerful people to stop.
Willj - February 5, 2012
Like suggested in NYVC link below, yes
tedvdw - February 5, 2012
Hence
“I’d assume that unless the decision was based on other factors "……….
Jens - February 5, 2012
never tested positive
yeehoo - February 4, 2012
yeehoo the lawyer :)
Willj - February 4, 2012
i'm cheap too
yeehoo - February 4, 2012
You, you mean? Me neither
although that is somewhat correlated to the fact that I have never been tested.
tedvdw - February 4, 2012
most tested DDIFP in the history of the world, evah.
yeehoo - February 4, 2012
Bonnie Ford - ESPN
does a nice job outlining questions raised and future possible actions regarding this case. Link
sebastiandeluded - February 4, 2012
Thx
Willj - February 4, 2012
Nobody ever got rich betting against Big Tex
Jimbo... - February 4, 2012
WADA is all confident and such about evidence sharing, UCI is 'Oh Baby, why you have to keep bringing up the past?'...
…and Contador comes out tomorrow.
Is it just me, or are we about to see the UCI-WADA cage match where the illusion of cooperation finally collapses?
Ed K - February 5, 2012
Seems WADA and USADA are the ones involved
with any luck UCI stay well clear of a case it seems like they have no practical role in. What are the odds we get so lucky?
Jens - February 5, 2012
We're talking about an organization led by Pat McQuaid here...
Ed K - February 5, 2012
Couple of links
Charles Pelkey with his ‘The Explainer’ column http://redkiteprayer.com/?p=7669
NYVelocity with an appeal http://nyvelocity.com/content/features/2012/justice-servedon-platter (or if that doesn’t work, a mirror pdf)
tedvdw - February 5, 2012
Interesting stuff...
That Armstrong-Planned Parenthood-Boxer-Birotte connection is pretty suggestive. I would like to think that the decision to end the case was legitimate (or anyway, no less legitimate than the decision to begin the case…). But I have to admit, in an election year folks in DC probably care a lot more about what Lance can do to help them politically than they do about whether he doped to win bike races…
tgartner - February 6, 2012
Terrible news
I honestly can’t understand the wall of Lance-support here. We have a hugely famous and succesful person who, it seems quite likely, achieved his position through cheating. He hasn’t admitted that, and everybody outside of some small communities on the internet believes – violently – that he’s completely innocent. He remains a role model and an icon. I think there’s an obligation to do whatever is legal to expose the fraud and educate people about his actions – or, if he’s innocent, to muster evidence for that, if possible, that would convince the handful of lance-doubters.
Against the principles of truth and justice, we have only the argument that it forces people to ‘slog through a soap-opera’ (ie see a little story once every three months in the sidebar of PodiumCafe) – and as a result you all conclude that we should just ‘forget about’ everything that’s happened? Why? Is there some threshold level of success and wealth, beyond which people should become immune from the legal process because it’s too boring to bother prosecuting them? Perhaps that is how it works, but it shouldn’t be.
Wastrel - February 6, 2012
"the wall of Lance-support here"
¿Que?
tedvdw - February 6, 2012
+1
omnevelnihil - February 6, 2012
I mean, if wishing that he'd fall into some kind of total oblivion where even Phil and Paul couldn't remember his name...
…is support, then sure.
Ed K - February 6, 2012
I think you need to read through a few years of PdC
to sort of see how people got to this point but suffice to say the “wall of Lance-support” is a huge misinterpretation of the sentiments around here. The pure fatigue that is felt on the whole topic is another matter.
Jens - February 6, 2012
agree...being tired of the drama ≠ support
JustJoshinYa - February 6, 2012
Fatigue is the perfect word, coupled with a reluctance to give LA any more air space.
Seahorse - February 6, 2012
Good news.
It is over, the sport can move on.
DriftNasty - February 6, 2012
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