International arrest warrant issued against Landis

[BroDeal]

Have to say I agree with this one... Landis has only dug a deeper dung hole for himself.. He should just sit down, on the record and say, look, I stuffed up, this is how it all went... but the house of cards it would bring down would mostly likely re enforced by bricks before that, if it already hasn't.. esp if the guy with the initials of LA is within it's walls. It is the right thing to do, but it'll never happen.. the resulting lawsuits would tie up the courts for years......

FLandis is judgement proof. Before fessing up he can give his yellow jerseys and trophy to his family for safe keeping. Beyond that what can anyone take from him?

 

[Mellow Velo]

Seems to be some confusion out there as to whether the type of warrant issued has been mis-reported.
Some sources are now claim that its not international, but only valid for France.
In which case, he would not be subject to automatic arrest, were he to enter an EU country. The French would need to make a formal request, which may be too much trouble.

 

[Anonymous]

FLandis is judgement proof. Before fessing up he can give his yellow jerseys and trophy to his family for safe keeping. Beyond that what can anyone take from him?

So you don't think LA would open his wallet then? Surely someone with nothing left would be very happy for a donation of circa $500k, and therefore easier to bribe? Uh, I mean, "more willing to accept a gift".

 

[Mellow Velo]

France only....at the moment.

However.
Earlier Monday, France's anti-doping chief Pierre Bordry had mistakenly described the arrest warrant as international. Granoux stressed that the warrant is only applicable on French soil. It is possible in such cases to issue an international warrant at a later date if needed.

So, its just one step away.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

From what I can tell, the law is only a French law, but any other nation in the EU could honor it. Meaning, he sets foot in, say, Austria, they could decide to hold him. But the bottom line is that Floyd isn't leaving the US with the possible exception of going to Mexico. Period. He doesn't race well enough to do it, and doesn't have the cash (and won't take RR's offer). He may race a little this year, maybe next. But He's done, finished. Forever regulated to being nothing but a disgraced ex-racer who cheated in the worst way, and surrounded himself with a bunch of selfish idiots (Geohagen, Baker, Suh, etc.) I think that he probably will end up being a guy who works in a bike shop and leads a few rides, while sleeping on couches or in cheap apartments for a long time.

I should say I read his book, and while I think a lot of it is fiction, I do think the first third resonated. I'd like to think, perhaps because of his up bringing, perhaps because it's go to really, really sting bad to be relegated to poverty while others who did the same as you bask in glory and wealth, his conscience will catch up with him, he'll crack, and spill his guts. But for now, it's not going to happen.

 

[thehog]

So you don't think LA would open his wallet then? Surely someone with nothing left would be very happy for a donation of circa $500k, and therefore easier to bribe? Uh, I mean, "more willing to accept a gift".

I think all the Twitters a couple of weeks back when Landis was personally informed of the warrant indicates he wants hush money.

No wonder Armstrong had to come out of retirement!

 

[frenchfry]

How does something like this work.

You are living in one country.

You dont' have much money (apparently sleeping on a friends sofa or something).

The justice system of another country subpoena's you for testimony. Not an arrest warrant... just wanting you to testify about something. That country is 7 or 8 timezones away.

What exactly is expected in that situation? Is he supposed to travel to France on his own time to give testimony in a case he isn't idicted in? Is he supposed to travel across the country to the US capital... present himself to the French embassy, and then have them fly him out and back... and pay for his expenses?

If he's expected to pay for travel, food, accomodations, etc... it seems a bit ridiculous, since he wasnt' charged with anything when they subpoenaed him. Maybe that's the way international justice works... but I have trouble with the idea a government can force you to spend 5-10 grand just because they want you to answer some questions.

I'm not so much saying this because it's a cyclist... just commenting on a scary legal phenomena in general.

Why would you consider it scary that an individual should be made to assume the consequences of his acts? After all, at one time he (or his advisors) had enough money to pay a professional hacker to do his diry business. He even had enough to try (and almost succeed) to bankrupt 2 anti-doping agencies.

To suggest that the French government is somehow overeacting is ridiculous. If anything they are taking it pretty easy.

 

[frenchfry]

Talking about TBV, I found this pic of "TBV" on Mt. Diablo. Could it be Carboncrank? Or are ONCE jerseys the jersey of choice for apologists?

Hey! My favorite long sleeve jersey is ONCE.

 

[S2Sturges]

Ah, we can hope, we can hope. A LA-free Tour would be heaven.

Yes, and with nary a reference from either Ligget or Sherwen, they can't seem to say three sentences without pulling his name out... that's why I didn't follow it last year, after the third stage I'd had enough, everything was Armstrong doing this and will Armstrong sprint and on and on. fecking annoying as hell...
why was the world cursed with this man? Before the dope he was a reasonable Classics rider, nothing more..

 

[thehog]

Just reading this:

According to the AFP report, preventing Landis' defense from succeeding cost the World Anti-doping Agency nearly its entire 1.8 million dollar legal budget on the case.

- Shocking.

 

[blackcat]

Can you imagine if Tony Parker hired somebody to hack the NBA's network in order to avoid a sanction? America would go nuts. Would we call it a wichhunt?

or Joachim Noah. Bloody cheese eating surrendy monkeys

 

[David Suro]

This is a very sad story.

I believe that all men are inherently good. Some do a better job of hiding it.

I wish the best for Landis and his family.

It seems obvious that he made errors of judgement, but he has paid his price and should be allowed to live (not race) in peace.

 

[elizab]

This is a very sad story.

I believe that all men are inherently good. Some do a better job of hiding it.

I wish the best for Landis and his family.

It seems obvious that he made errors of judgement, but he has paid his price and should be allowed to live (not race) in peace.

Some of the "inherently good" have long left that good behind.
Sure, Floyd should be allowed to live in peace. AFTER being held accountable and accepting responsibility for his deplorable actions.
Go back to what he did to Greg at his trial...

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpa...1575BC0A96F9C8B63&scp=2&sq=Arnie Baker&st=cse

When money is available, the unethical and immoral will go to great lengths to keep their secret just that. As evidenced by the above NY Times article.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Just reading this:

According to the AFP report, preventing Landis' defense from succeeding cost the World Anti-doping Agency nearly its entire 1.8 million dollar legal budget on the case.

- Shocking.

No wonder somebody is bullet proof. No substitute for deep pockets.

Anyhow, I think most would agree that Landis has been punished enough; probably more than enough.
However, his current misfortune is a direct result of the course of action he chose to follow.
He is undoubtably the victim of poor advice from his dodgy associates.

 

[Anonymous]

After these comments I don't see why we should feel sorry for Flandis, he clearly doesn't feel sorry for himself:

What Greg actualy divulged to me is what he does not want to talk about. I did not call for advice, I called to give him a chance to plead his case as to why he was speaking when he had never spoken to me nor met me in the past and in no way could be portrayed as knowing me personally. Unfortunately, the facts that he divulged to me in the hour which he spoke and gave no opportunity for me to do the same, would damage his character severely and I would rather not do what has been done to me. However, if he ever opens his mouth again and the word Floyd comes out, I will tell you all some things that you will wish you didn't know and unfortunately I will have entered the race to the bottom which is now in progress.

For the record, I don't know Greg, and have no more respect for Greg than I have for people who go through life blaming others for all of their problems. You are not a victim of others Greg, you are a pathetic human who believes that if others didn't cheat (not sure about you) you would be the President and all the peasants would bow to your command. Join reality with the rest of us who win some and lose some and keep on smiling.

Floyd says it himself - no point blaming people, or being the victim, you win some and lose some and carry on smiling.

Always look on the bright side of life, do-do do do do-do do-do....

 

[Not Riding Enough]

From what I can tell, the law is only a French law, but any other nation in the EU could honor it. Meaning, he sets foot in, say, Austria, they could decide to hold him. But the bottom line is that Floyd isn't leaving the US with the possible exception of going to Mexico. Period. He doesn't race well enough to do it, and doesn't have the cash (and won't take RR's offer). He may race a little this year, maybe next. But He's done, finished. Forever regulated to being nothing but a disgraced ex-racer who cheated in the worst way, and surrounded himself with a bunch of selfish idiots (Geohagen, Baker, Suh, etc.) I think that he probably will end up being a guy who works in a bike shop and leads a few rides, while sleeping on couches or in cheap apartments for a long time.

I should say I read his book, and while I think a lot of it is fiction, I do think the first third resonated. I'd like to think, perhaps because of his up bringing, perhaps because it's go to really, really sting bad to be relegated to poverty while others who did the same as you bask in glory and wealth, his conscience will catch up with him, he'll crack, and spill his guts. But for now, it's not going to happen.

Your right that this isn't going to be the trigger. With his quotes like:

"It appears to be another case of fabricated evidence by a French lab who is still upset a United States citizen believed he should have the right to face his accusers and defend himself."

and

"But certainly I hope it's not lost on anyone that it is a grand admission to having substandard computers at their self-proclaimed 'nation's best lab'. "

I'm not sure the it was too easy to do defence will cut it.

 

[kurtinsc]

Why would you consider it scary that an individual should be made to assume the consequences of his acts? After all, at one time he (or his advisors) had enough money to pay a professional hacker to do his diry business. He even had enough to try (and almost succeed) to bankrupt 2 anti-doping agencies.

To suggest that the French government is somehow overeacting is ridiculous. If anything they are taking it pretty easy.

There are no alleged acts in this situation.

They want to question him.

To me there is a big difference in indicting someone for a crime and putting out a warrant for them... and wanting to ask them questions and subpoenaing them.

In one case you are accusing them of illegal activity. In the other you THINK they might have some information about illegal activity... you aren't accusing them of a crime.

Do you not see the difference in this? Again... I'm not sure about the specifics. As long as he was given the ability to comply without any severe personal expense then he should be made to do so. But if you aren't arresting him, the government shouldn't be able to force him to suffer financial distress because they want to ask some questions.

Again... I'm not talking about Landis's situation... just more of a general rule of thumb. I can't see how it's legal for a government to force someone to travel across the world to answer questions unless they are being compesated for the trouble. Giving testimony is different then facing charges.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry id this has already been mentioned

I used to be a fan of FL, until... his "Tour Incident" and subsequent activities. I also think there is a good chance he is guilty of something in this latest hacking case. However, I even more firmly believe in the following

"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

That's the part of the US Constitution that makes us (mostly) safe from torture, forced confessions, etc. FL has this right as well and it seems to this non-lawyer that the French court is asking him to come to France, thereby depriving him of property without due course of law and incriminate himself. Viva La Bill of Rights!

Anybody know enough about French Law to say if they have the same rights?

 

[frenchfry]

"But certainly I hope it's not lost on anyone that it is a grand admission to having substandard computers at their self-proclaimed 'nation's best lab'. "

Keep in mind that it wasn't Floyd or Arnie that did the actual hacking, but a real expert in the field that has also hacked the computers of organisations that had a lot more more reason to protect their information than AFLD.

 

[kurtinsc]

The arrest warrant is for hacking. Landis and Baker supposedly paid the hacker. Arnie actually accessed the network from his house. Can you image the outcry if the French tried him "in absentia"?

A flight from San Diego to Paris cost $700 right now. I will buy him one with the thousands of airlines miles I have and he can stay with an old teammate of mine who lives in Paris. Landis has avoided France not because he poor, but because he is guilty.

Can you imagine if Tony Parker hired somebody to hack the NBA's network in order to avoid a sanction? America would go nuts. Would we call it a wichhunt?

It is very simple, it is not OK to hack a companies network. It is not OK in the US why should it be in France?

I dont' think you're right.

The arrest warrant is for not showing up when subpoenaed. The subpoena was to testify about the hacking case.

Again... while I don't know the legal side, I do know that I view "answering questions" as a different animal then some here do. To me, if you aren't issuing an arrest warrant, the government needs to provide every possible accomodation to someone they want to simply "question". It's not reasonable to force someone to fly halfway around the world at their own expense simply because you want to ask them a few questions.

If those accomodations were made... then Landis deserves whatever he gets.

If they weren't... then I view this as really crappy behavior by the French legal system.


IF it were an arrest warrant for hacking... that would be totally different. In this case it comes across as this:

"Mr. Landis, we need you to fly to France to answer some questions."

"Umm... no."

"Mr. Landis, here is a subpoena... you need to come to answer questions."

"I'm living in a van down by the river in California and you want me to hop a plane to France to answer some questions? Screw you."

"Mr. Landis, we have issued a warrant for your arrest for not coming to answer our questions."



I'm not saying the French government did anything illegal... it just strikes me as very unfair.


As for the NBA/Tony Parker thing... I think you'd be suprised how little most people in the US would care. PED's in major sports here are talked about... but nobody really goes after the people who are using them all that much. Alex Rodriguez is still hugely popular, gets tons of endorsements and has admitted to using PED's. We had a NFL player suspended for steroids make the pro-bowl in the year of his suspension. Sometimes we pretend to care about it... but the majority really could care less... they just want to watch the event.

The Tony Parker thing would get a 15 second mention on ESPN when charges were filed... then another 15 seconds if a settlement or verdict were reached. It would have very little impact.

 

[kurtinsc]

Evidently you are too stupid to pick up the phone (or even use e-mail), contact the French authorities and work out a way to resolve the situation. Tehre is a right to remain silent in France. Landis could have refused to answer questions. Problem solved...unless Baker implicates Landis.

But if they were asking to talk to me... wouldn't it be there responsibility to work out a way to resolve the situation?

Again... they didn't charge him with hacking. They wanted to ask him questions. In my mind, that really doesn't put a huge burden on him to do much for them. When dectectives are investigating a case, they generally come to YOU to ask questions. They have to make the effort... until charges are filed. At that point you become legally responsible for defending yourself.

Again... just personalizing this...

If I vacationed in France and witnessed a crime, then got a letter from France when I got home asking me to come back and answer some questions... I very well might ignore it. Simply put... it's not my problem, and if they aren't saying I did anything wrong... who cares? I'd be shocked if I got an arrest warrant for not coming to talk to the authorities in a different country about a crime I'm not charged with.

 

[Race Radio]

But if they were asking to talk to me... wouldn't it be there responsibility to work out a way to resolve the situation?

Again... they didn't charge him with hacking. They wanted to ask him questions. In my mind, that really doesn't put a huge burden on him to do much for them. When dectectives are investigating a case, they generally come to YOU to ask questions. They have to make the effort... until charges are filed. At that point you become legally responsible for defending yourself.

Again... just personalizing this...

If I vacationed in France and witnessed a crime, then got a letter from France when I got home asking me to come back and answer some questions... I very well might ignore it. Simply put... it's not my problem, and if they aren't saying I did anything wrong... who cares? I'd be shocked if I got an arrest warrant for not coming to talk to the authorities in a different country about a crime I'm not charged with.

They charged him with Hacking. It is up to Floyd to work it out, not the police.

 

[flicker]

Once again the Frogs are persecuting my man Floyd. Will they never give it up?

Will Floyd be tortured in an Iron Maiden in France and be forced to lie to protect his mental and physical well being?

 

[thehog]

They charged him with Hacking. It is up to Floyd to work it out, not the police.

Recent case here in Britain showed a woman 40 arrested in Spain for a crime she committed 15 years earlier in France. The EU work together at the borders. I actually read about it all of the time in the EU. Landis will never
come to Europe again. He wouldn’t risk it.

Hacking has to be punished. It’s a serious crime.

 

[Boeing]

Dear Floyd;
Now would be a good time to out with a new book.. Hit Oprah

Oh yea fock u