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Lance Armstrong's lawyer: 'Stop leaks'

Jul 22, 2009
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By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer The Associated Press
Monday, July 19, 2010


AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong's attorney sent a letter to the federal prosecutor investigating the seven-time Tour de France winner and his associates for possible fraud and doping violations, complaining about leaks to the media.

Monday's letter from Tim Herman to Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Miller in Los Angeles says it's "especially unfair to subject Mr. Armstrong to this continuing media blitz when he is in the middle of his final Tour de France."

A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.

The letter also said Armstrong's attorneys talked to Miller about the leaks less than two weeks ago and are "extremely frustrated that these leaks have intensified."

An e-mail message left for Miller was not immediately returned Monday.

Armstrong has denied allegations of doping.

The investigation was spurred by accusations from Floyd Landis, one of Armstrong's former teammates on the US Postal team, in a series of e-mails sent to cycling and doping officials this spring.

Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour title for doping, said the use of banned substances was common on the team. Armstrong has denied those allegations and has questioned Landis' credibility.

The New York Times reported that authorities have issued grand jury subpoenas. According to the New York Daily News, one of those went to American cyclist Greg LeMond, a three-time Tour winner who has feuded with Armstrong for several years.

"This appears to be a full-blown and largely unmonitored exploration of Floyd Landis' patently unreliable and routinely changing accusations of possible improper conduct in the professional cycling industry at large," Herman wrote.

"In fact, the 'investigation' has recently erupted into a forum for disgruntled Lance haters to bash Armstrong and try to settle old scores."

The letter notes that after seeing some of the leaks in the media, Herman requested a meeting with Miller but that the prosecutor refused to discuss investigation theories or general topics.

"It is egregiously unfair and frustrating for New York reporters to have far more knowledge about this matter than Mr. Armstrong or his attorney," Herman wrote.

Armstrong was in 31st place Monday in what he has said will be his last Tour de France, 40 minutes, 31 seconds behind leader Alberto Contador of Spain.

Anyone know 'what leaks' he might be referring too?
 
tockit said:
Anyone know 'what leaks' he might be referring too?

I am more interested in the forum for disgruntled Lance haters. I wonder what he is referring to.

Some of the "leaks" may have come from cycling riders and insiders that the reporters have contacted. They do not necessarily have to have come from someone inside the investigation.
 
BroDeal said:
Some of the "leaks" may have come from cycling riders and insiders that the reporters have contacted. They do not necessarily have to have come from someone inside the investigation.

What are they going to do when witnesses talk about their testimony?

In the federal courts, the witness is not sworn to secrecy, and may disclose whatever he or she wishes to whomever he or she wishes. The witness exemption was adopted in part because it was thought that requiring witness secrecy was unrealistic and unenforceable, and in part to allow the witness to rebut rumors concerning his or her testimony. There is a basic revulsion in the United States about secret testimony.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Grand Jury System
 
BroDeal said:
I am more interested in the forum for disgruntled Lance haters. I wonder what he is referring to.

Some of the "leaks" may have come from cycling riders and insiders that the reporters have contacted. They do not necessarily have to have come from someone inside the investigation.

I think most Lance haters are pretty "gruntled" right at this point. It's been a pretty good month to be a Lance hater.:D
 
Apr 7, 2010
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Usually you see those types of "leaks" (or rather complaints about leaks) from defense lawyers when they are trying to build a case for juror contamination and a transfer of venue. It makes sense when you have a case that is a hot button in a certain location. For example, the Rodney King case being moved out of Simi Valley, or the more recent case of the BART train shooting being moved south to Los Angeles.

But when you are talking national (indeed international) media leaks about the Armstrong Investigation, one wonders if the defense is building a case to have the trial (if it comes to that) venued/held in some town somwhere where each of the jurors says "I've never heard of the tour" and are thus more susceptible to the "I fight cancer" defense.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Astana or Saxo Bank or any professional team as a matter of fact. If you disagree, sent my retainer check fedex please because I ain't got it yet.
 
tockit said:
By JIM VERTUNO AP Sports Writer The Associated Press
Monday, July 19, 2010



Monday's letter from Tim Herman to Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Miller in Los Angeles says it's "especially unfair to subject Mr. Armstrong to this continuing media blitz when he is in the middle of his final Tour de France."


Pfft. I think it's 'especially unfair' of him to subject us to his final tour de france while he's in the middle of this federal criminal investigation. So there, Tim Herman!
 

SpartacusRox

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May 6, 2010
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David Suro said:
MacRoadie,

Thanks for posting the link to the site that outlines the basics of the Grand Jury process.

The GJ process is one of the biggest jokes in any western justice system, thats why only the US, and not even all States still have it.
 
Jun 15, 2009
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onefastgear said:
That article makes Novitzky sound like The Terminator.

It's convenient that the most damning quotes come from:
1. The co-founder of BALCO
2. Greg Anderson's attorney, whose client went to jail because he refused to tell the truth about Bonds
 

Barrus

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SpartacusRox said:
The GJ process is one of the biggest jokes in any western justice system, thats why only the US, and not even all States still have it.

Well, it has to do with the way the US justice system is built up, and the justice systems of the different states. Really every western justice system deals with these things differently and every justice systems have their own jokes. I think it is reasonable to use in a system that is based on trial by jury

But like most I do appreciate the irony of this leaking
 
Jun 19, 2009
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sars1981 said:
Nice to see he managed to leak his own email requesting a stop to the leaks.

Also a disingenuous response from someone routinely manipulating the media. When it backfires use the Nixon "leak" response. Next stop is question the patriotism and devotion to a higher authority (higher than LA!).
 
Jun 19, 2009
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SpartacusRox said:
The GJ process is one of the biggest jokes in any western justice system, thats why only the US, and not even all States still have it.

You may want to disqualify the evidence against LA and now you object to the method of investigation/prosecution? I thought he was innocent of charges, wasn't he? What charges? I guess we wouldn't know that without and investigation on this level and without it I would be....sad.
 
Oct 6, 2009
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Hugh Januss said:
I think most Lance haters are pretty "gruntled" right at this point. It's been a pretty good month to be a Lance hater.:D

+1. :D

I remember when the Flandis emails were released on the Team RSH website, and there was that odd statement that had been supposedly written by the lawyer to accompany the release of the emails. Many of us on this forum were commenting that the statement didn't sound like something an attorney would write.

The article referenced in the OP quotes excerpts from the attorney's letter to the feds. I didn't think it sounded very impressive either, implying that Novitzky and the boys are "haters." Odd. :confused:
 
Feb 21, 2010
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Fanhouse article excerpts

Wow, Atty Herman is setting this up for quite a battle:

"I think he's way off the FDA reservation," said Herman, who is the final stages of selecting a criminal defense firm. "I don't know what else he's doing with his time besides this." Link

It sounds like the defense atty's he met with were not so helpful, either:

"I wanted to talk to some people who had some experience with him," Herman said. "All I really came away with was the BALCO template. I don't know if it will help me, but nobody on the government side is willing to share what's going on."

This is getting quite weird. The article has a stat that should send a shiver down Lance's spine:

Regardless of how he's been portrayed, Novitzky has gotten results. Ten of the 11 people charged as the result of the BALCO raid were either convicted or accepted plea deals.

But, sure, these allegations have NOTHING to do with him being distracted, crashing, looking like a beaten man. Nothing.

If I were Atty Herman, I'd be more concerned with working on Lance's defense than the media.
 
Colm.Murphy said:
Wow, Atty Herman is setting this up for quite a battle:

"I think he's way off the FDA reservation," said Herman, who is the final stages of selecting a criminal defense firm. "I don't know what else he's doing with his time besides this." Link

It sounds like the defense atty's he met with were not so helpful, either:

"I wanted to talk to some people who had some experience with him," Herman said. "All I really came away with was the BALCO template. I don't know if it will help me, but nobody on the government side is willing to share what's going on."


This is getting quite weird. The article has a stat that should send a shiver down Lance's spine:

Regardless of how he's been portrayed, Novitzky has gotten results. Ten of the 11 people charged as the result of the BALCO raid were either convicted or accepted plea deals.

But, sure, these allegations have NOTHING to do with him being distracted, crashing, looking like a beaten man. Nothing.

If I were Atty Herman, I'd be more concerned with working on Lance's defense than the media.

The only reason he didn't get Bonds is that the one person who saw him use steroids went to jail instead of telling the truth. I would think there are more people that have seen Lance do it and are less willing to go to jail.
 
I see a Plea

I think team Pharmstrong is going to work for a plea bargain. If they are smart, they'll limit their losses and take a couple of hits to the myth in exchange for keeping information gathered in the case from going public.

Also in that story is some speculation they give Armstrong immunity in exchange for information. That would be the golden ticket for team Pharmstrong. Lance can have a career in politics and Och/Weisel will take a couple of hard legal blows, but continue infecting cycling.
 
Jun 15, 2009
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Colm.Murphy said:
If I were Atty Herman, I'd be more concerned with working on Lance's defense than the media.

I've been thinking along those lines, too...Liestrong PR has been way below par on this one IMHO. Normally we'd expect LA's lawyers to shut up and do hard-nosed lawyering while leaving the PR professionals to stock the trough for the public. Instead Herman comes across sounding like Lance ("I don't know what else he's doing with his time"(TH today) vs "Do the American people feel like this is a good use of their tax dollars?" (LA last week)) but with slightly more legal knowledge.

Another thing - according to the VN Coverage of LA last Wed, “The press is pushing an agenda here,” he said. “Look at the SI (Sports Illustrated) article in the beginning (May). ‘Lance Armstrong owned 50 percent of the (USPS) team and he defrauded the U.S. government.’ That is so fundamentally untrue and false.” If the LA that we've all come to know and love actually believed that, he'd have sent Herman to find a good civil attorney to sue SI. Instead, he sent Herman to play defense by seeking advice from "Mr. 10-for-11" Novitsky's last targets.

Their whole camp is just uncharacteristically out-of-whack this time...definitely fun to watch.
 
Actually this is what I would expect from a good attorney handling a case with very high public profile. If he was sitting on his hands right now, I'd fire him and get a new one. Start managing that reasonable doubt thing really early. If in the end Mr. Armstrong is guilty then I hope he gets his due, but until then, if he has the money to pay for a really good defense, good for him, it's still a free country.
 

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