According to two people with knowledge of the situation, Landis has received an strongly-worded letter from Hein Verbruggen, a former president of the sport's international governing body, whom Landis accused of accepting bribes to suppress a failed Armstrong drug test. Pat McQuaid, who succeeded Verbruggen as president of the International Cycling Union (or UCI), confirmed that the letter had been sent from UCI's general counsel.
"They are asking him to cease and desist from making statements he's made about Mr. Verbruggen in the past few weeks because they are not true," McQuaid said.
Meanwhile, Landis, who has confessed to extensive doping during his career, has been providing extensive information to Food and Drug Administration criminal investigator Jeff Novitzky, who uncovered the infamous BALCO doping ring as well as the steroid distribution ring that Kirk Radomski established in Major League Baseball.
According to people close to the situation, Landis and Novitzky have developed a good relationship.
Among the attorneys advising Landis from Wilson Sonsini is Leo Cunningham, a defense attorney who was once a prosecutor in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, where BALCO was litigated.