- Jul 27, 2010
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U.S. Government Opens Investigation of CN’s Clinic Forum
The U.S. Dept. of Justice announced today that it is opening a formal investigation of the Clinic, an internet forum associated with Cycling News. Among the potential charges under consideration are the manufacture, distribution and sale of fraudulent predictions; reputation laundering; trafficking in banned words, images, photographs and videos; impersonating an attorney; making false statements without a link to give them the appearance of truth; transport of unsubstantiated opinions over state lines; sock puppeting without a sock; and trolling in international waters.
“We have been following activities in the Clinic with great interest for some time now,” said U.S. Deputy Attorney Flick R. Fanstrong, but he firmly denied rumors that federal agents had in fact infiltrated the forum, posing as posters. “We did consider this tactic at one point,” he conceded, “but the problem was, no matter what our agents posted, they were quickly discovered and outed. Or even worse, they ended up siding with the very posters that we were trying to investigate.”
Fanstrong added that the investigation is focusing on a handful of Clinic posters who act as ring-leaders of the forum, by organizing and orchestrating the discussion around certain well-rehearsed themes. While he declined to name names, he said these posters were easy to identify. “Just mention a certain five-letter word, and they swarm out like you poked a stick into a bee hive,” he said. When asked what that word was, however, Fanstrong said it must not be named.
Fanstrong said the government is currently deposing witnesses, former members of the Clinic who are willing to testify about their experiences there. Two of the witnesses are scheduled to appear on the show “Sixty Minutes” later this week, where it is believed they will recount how they directly observed the reputations of former cyclists being injected with PES (palmares eliminating stories). According to these and other witnesses, these PES are endemic in the Clinic; estimates suggest that the reputations of as many as 80% of all former and active cyclists are now associated with them.
“If this is true,” warned Fanstrong, “these Clinic posters are destroying the carefully constructed history of pro cycling. For the sake of a short-term, self-serving gain in truth, they would overthrow the myths that have inspired fans of the sport for more than a century. At stake is nothing less than the sanctity of the sport’s past, the right of every fan to believe his hero was clean.”
While Fanstrong would not provide an estimate of when the Clinic investigation would be completed, he was confident that it would lead to indictments. “Everyone of our targets is guiltier than a ham sandwich,” he assured the press.
The U.S. Dept. of Justice announced today that it is opening a formal investigation of the Clinic, an internet forum associated with Cycling News. Among the potential charges under consideration are the manufacture, distribution and sale of fraudulent predictions; reputation laundering; trafficking in banned words, images, photographs and videos; impersonating an attorney; making false statements without a link to give them the appearance of truth; transport of unsubstantiated opinions over state lines; sock puppeting without a sock; and trolling in international waters.
“We have been following activities in the Clinic with great interest for some time now,” said U.S. Deputy Attorney Flick R. Fanstrong, but he firmly denied rumors that federal agents had in fact infiltrated the forum, posing as posters. “We did consider this tactic at one point,” he conceded, “but the problem was, no matter what our agents posted, they were quickly discovered and outed. Or even worse, they ended up siding with the very posters that we were trying to investigate.”
Fanstrong added that the investigation is focusing on a handful of Clinic posters who act as ring-leaders of the forum, by organizing and orchestrating the discussion around certain well-rehearsed themes. While he declined to name names, he said these posters were easy to identify. “Just mention a certain five-letter word, and they swarm out like you poked a stick into a bee hive,” he said. When asked what that word was, however, Fanstrong said it must not be named.
Fanstrong said the government is currently deposing witnesses, former members of the Clinic who are willing to testify about their experiences there. Two of the witnesses are scheduled to appear on the show “Sixty Minutes” later this week, where it is believed they will recount how they directly observed the reputations of former cyclists being injected with PES (palmares eliminating stories). According to these and other witnesses, these PES are endemic in the Clinic; estimates suggest that the reputations of as many as 80% of all former and active cyclists are now associated with them.
“If this is true,” warned Fanstrong, “these Clinic posters are destroying the carefully constructed history of pro cycling. For the sake of a short-term, self-serving gain in truth, they would overthrow the myths that have inspired fans of the sport for more than a century. At stake is nothing less than the sanctity of the sport’s past, the right of every fan to believe his hero was clean.”
While Fanstrong would not provide an estimate of when the Clinic investigation would be completed, he was confident that it would lead to indictments. “Everyone of our targets is guiltier than a ham sandwich,” he assured the press.
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