As if being generally despised wasn鈥檛 enough, the United States government is about to make Lance Armstrong鈥檚 life just that much more uncomfortable. The Justice Department is expected to officially announce Friday that filed two years ago by Armstrong鈥檚 former cycling partner, Floyd Landis (one of filed against him).
The government can claim that by violating the Tour de France鈥檚 ban on illegal drugs, Armstrong defrauded his team鈥檚 primary sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service, who paid at least $30 million in support.
Robert Luskin, Armstrong鈥檚 attorney, gave a statement Friday dismissing the Postal Service’s claims:
“Lance and his representatives worked constructively over these last weeks with federal lawyers to resolve this case fairly, but those talks failed because we disagree about whether the Postal Service was damaged,” Luskin said. “The Postal Service’s own studies show that the Service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship鈥攂enefits totaling more than $100 million.”
Legal experts believe Armstrong could still avoid the charges by arguing that his contract with the Postal Service did not explicitly forbid blood doping.
For more on the athlete, check out “A History of Lance Armstrong Coverage in 国产吃瓜黑料.”