What’s the latest being thrown around? Two words: Witness, and Tampering. Yeah, file that one under really bad idea.
Witness tampering is the real deal. (18 U.S.C. § 1512. Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/718/usc_sec_18_00001512—-000-.html.)
Tyler Hamilton’s lawyers on Monday formally notified federal authorities about a weekend incident they consider to be “aggressive contact” initiated by Lance Armstrong, saying it is up to those authorities to decide whether it constitutes witness tampering.
. . .
The two cyclists crossed paths at an Aspen, Colo., restaurant Saturday night, said Hamilton attorney Chris Manderson. He said Hamilton told him Armstrong repeatedly asked how much he had been paid to do the television interview, and added that his legal team would “(expletive) destroy you,” “tear you apart on the witness stand,” and “make your life a living (expletive) hell.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=6658817.
If this is true, man, Armstrong just stuffed it up hard.
It’s got to be tempting to put your hand on a guy who just testified against you. It’s got to be tempting to laugh him down from the comfort of your bar stool. It’s got to be tempting to have him thrown out of the restaurant when you’re personal friends with the owner.
But, just because something is tempting doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to actually do it.
Remember Filippo Simeoni? (Stage 18, 2004 Tour de France: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/24/1090464904320.html.) I’m sure that seemed like a great idea at the time too. This time, maybe not so much.
California-based former federal prosecutor Richard J. Cutler has no first-hand knowledge of the incident but said that the episode, if accurately recounted by Hamilton, could fall within the definition of witness tampering.
Although no criminal charges have been filed against Armstrong, Cutler said the ongoing investigation could be enough to underlie a charge of witness tampering. Hamilton could be called back before the grand jury to provide more information, and/or summoned to testify at trial if a case were to go that far.
“If I were the prosecutor, my investigator would be going to talk to Hamilton,” said Cutler, now with the firm of Dechert LLP. “This, to me, is a game-changer.”
A charge of witness tampering could also affect any statute of limitations issues prosecutors might be facing by extending the timeline forward to the present day, Cutler added.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=6658817.
If what I’m reading about the statute of limitations is correct, and I have every reason to believe that it is, this could completely change the manner, and amount, of charges Armstrong could be facing. This relevant paragraph is from a May 25th Sports Illustrated article on Floyd Landis.
Under federal law, the statute of limitations for charges related to the illegal possession and distribution of steroids, human growth hormone and related performance-enhancers is five years. Federal charges for conspiracy and racketeering also carry a five-year statute of limitations. Given that Landis rode with Armstrong between 2002 and 2004, charges for whatever wrongdoing Armstrong may have committed could therefore be barred by time. That said, the statute of limitations for a charge can be tolled (extended) under certain conditions.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/michael_mccann/05/25….
Like my man Joe Biden likes to say, this is a big fucking deal. If Armstrong just opened the door to criminal liability on charges that were previously going to be barred by the statute of limitations, he will have just handed the prosecution an early Christmas present wrapped in a big red bow. And, even if the statute of limitations tolling issue somehow does not come into play, the charge of witness tampering remains.
In fact, this may have been Armstrong biggest mistake of all. Even if prosecutors find themselves unable to indict him on a drug charge, they could still nail Armstrong for obstruction of justice.
Just like they did with Barry Bonds[.]
http://www.businessinsider.com/lance-armstrong-tyler-hamilton-witness-tampering-2011-6.
His 7 Tours mean shit. He’s a liar, fraud, asshole. “Apex predator”. He’s an apex shaped pile of shit.
When I was watching that Sixty Minutes interview it was obvious as hell that Tyler was thinking the whole time that sooner or later he was going to run into Lance and get his Ass Kicked.
Meanwhile, anybody else heard the rumor that there’s a movie coming out about this whole mess starring Charlie Sheen as LA and Bronson Pinchot as Tyler Hamilton? Steve Zahn as Floyd and that guy who played Floyd on The Andy Griffith show as Pat Mcquaid.
It is after all, show business. Anybody ride their bikes today?
yeah, I ride everyday I can, cause it is the source…I don’t pay any attention to pro cycling because it is pathetic and full of scumbags that make Don King look classy.
W,
Make no mistake, Novitsky would not be doing this had he not the cat in the bag. He is waiting to create his masterpiece, it is not if but what charges will hit. Vaughters, Zabriskie, CVV, and others have testified and have not been +, or involved in any investgation.
BGW,
LA does not do anything that is not premeditated. “bumping” into TY was no accident.
Hubris is a beautiful thing, it will ultimately lead to his narcissistic downfall.
Off to Flag and Williams to race my bike, ya’ll ride yours.
oh, and fuck Lance and the yellow cock rings too.
You know what is hilarious? Jokes about the chimera/vanishing twin. So fucking funny. Every time.
Same thing goes for Contador and beef products. Every time.
This just in: Alberto Contador wins the 2011 Tour de France by a margin of 6h 44m 21s (after time bonuses). He rides the final stage only for the excellent steak frites and French sparkling white wine.
Keep the rubber side down, y’all.
the mennonite joke was pretty funny
…humpty – i agree, the guy is extremely calculating & that’s what’s interesting about the novitsky investigation…armstrong & team can only extrapolate but he just doesn’t know what cards novitsky actually holds…
…your mention of vaughters, zabriskie, et al, ties in with mike asking about how hincapie is dealing with ‘fitting in’ after testifying under oath…pro cyclists have been dodging questions, spinning yarns &/or lying to the press, public & even investigators for years about doping issues but word has gotten around the peleton that a grand jury subpoena is bigger…it’s ‘serious ass, go to jail if you lie’ shit…
…preserving the status quo is one thing, going to jail for it is another, so i can’t imagine anybody is coming down too hard on elder statesman george hincapie…
…remember, other than tyler hamilton’s 60 minutes revelations, nobody really knows what information novitsky has collected, not even ‘superman’ himself…or his lawyers…
…barry bonds trainer greg anderson did jail time rather than testify against bonds & the speculation is that there will be a nice payoff for anderson, down the line…
…nobody is gonna go to jail to preserve armstrong’s ass or his lies, no matter how much he could pay them off…guy has burned to many bridges & then there’s that hubris issue…people are only gonna carry your shit for so long, then you gotta deal with it yourself…he’s surrounded by ‘yes-men’ but they’re not involved in this investigation…
…the guy may skate on jail time but armstrong’s lying & deceit will finally be exposed to the world at large & yet with the right spin, a little (faked) humbleness, i see armstrong coming up smelling like fucking roses in the long run…
…bottom line – armstrong’s legacy will not be written as the ‘perfect record’ he would like it to be…
…but the motherfucker will be living on steak, champagne & foie gras for the rest of his days…guaranteed…
For the record:
I laugh as heartily at the Lance-haterz as I do at the Lance-loverz. I think the cranky old men that get apoplectic over this shit are hilarious, too. I’m a cyclist, so this case intrigues me. But I take it as the drama of the competition. I have no rooting interest. I’m too busy with my own dream to be worried about the blood bank in 1997 or whatever the fuck obscure FDA statute Johan Bruyneel violated.
However you see Lance in your fanboy world, you can’t deny that he is arguably the most bad ass cyclist in history. I guess it’s cool to excavate the name of some coked out Belgian and tell tales of him attacking in the snow in ’74 or some shit. That guy is cool, too. But Armstrong is one aggressive bastard and he wins. I admire that in professional sports.
Now, rather than be a grown-up, Hamilton made the bitch move of going on TV and publicly dragging Armstrong’s name (fact or fiction) through the dirt. That’s just lowlife, tabloid journalism. So, this wasn’t witness tampering. Had Hamilton testified and then creeped back to his sad little life, Armstrong would be none the wiser. But he didn’t. And he got called out with a “How much did they pay you, pussy?” tongue lashing. Ha! Morally speaking, that’s fair game and as entertaining as a counter-attack on Ventoux. Legally speaking, it’s a Novitzky Hail Mary.
So, I laugh the hardest at Hamilton. Imagine him quaking and stuttering and wetting his pants. Maybe Armstrong can track down Landis outside a White Castle and give him the finger, too.
In sports, the only better than a mean aggressive bastard taking pretenders behind the woodshed is when that mean aggressive bastard gets taken down a peg by the new bastard. That’s the competitor in me talking.
So far, it’s just been the disgraced runners-up crying foul and that’s not going very far. So, until the next Armstrong whupping…
“Now, rather than be a grown-up, Hamilton made the bitch move of going on TV and publicly dragging Armstrong’s name (fact or fiction) through the dirt.”
…Says a guy on a message board with nothing to risk. My guess is the opposite, Hamilton (always has been a loser as far as I’m concerned), facing grown up realities of the cheating and the crimes made a grown up decision. Instead of making up some stupid story (vanishing twin) and starting another self-serving foundation took the best option as an adult.
As far as it being limited to disgraced cyclists, those are almost the only kind left due to their own actions (yeah, that includes Lance).
I guess another way to say it is there are very few cyclists stuck in the immature frame of mind that cheating and being a criminal equals being a man and a stand up human…I am only sure of one left at this point, we’ll see if it lasts.
The Feds take a very dim view of witness tampering and they have obtained § 1512 convictions for a lot less than the alleged behavior in this incident.
…wow…it’s kinda sad that some folks just don’t pay attention to what’s really going on…
…but not unusual…
“…what’s really going on…”?
What’s really going on is I get up too early, travel too far to do too much work for too little money, come home too late and too tired to go for a proper ride, have too many bills, pay too many taxes, and am getting too old too fast. Meanwhile, the elected officials we hired to make things better are too busy worrying about bicycle racers to do their job.
Jesus, dude! Do I have to draw you a picture?
…draw all the pictures you want, joe, any way you like…they can be your art portfolio…
…i was referring to someone & something all together different…
I was referring to who gives a fuck, bigger picture-wise. And maybe I was (am) alittle drunk. So crucify me. It’s Drunkcyclist, ain’t it? And I been both today. Simultaneously, even.
But seriously (seriously) I doubt one out of a thousand give a rat’s ass who dopes and who don’t. Most of us got bigger fish to fry. And I for one am sick of hearing aboot it, eh.
Fuck, at least Anthony Weiner had a funny sounding name.
Oh, and Dingus? I already got an art portfolio. Photography, actually. From back in the day when there was alittle more to it than button pushing.
And suddenly I am veryvery tired. Nighty night.
“Oh, and Dingus? I already got an art portfolio. Photography, actually. From back in the day when there was alittle more to it than button pushing.”
So have to twist something to focus made it that much harder
What I’d expect from a turd wrangler.