DOJ Reveals Why It's Targeting Lance Armstrong in $100 Million Lawsuit

Armstrong wasn't the only US Postal Service cyclist who benefited from banned substances, but the US Department of Justice thinks he's the one to hold responsible

lance armstrong usps cycling kit
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Disgraced ex-pro cyclist Lance Armstrong will face trial this coming November in a $100 million lawsuit brought by the US government, which claims Armstrong owes the US Postal Service for the millions it invested in him in the early '00s. Conspicuous in the suit is that, while Armstrong was complicit in the doping scandal and use of performance-enhancing drugs, he wasn't the only member of his team involved—so why put the focus of the suit on him alone? According to USA Today, attorneys for the US Department of Justice have filed documents explaining just that, largely citing Armstrong's role as 'ringleader' of the team.

“He was by far the highest paid rider. For example, in 2001, he was paid $4 million, while some other riders were paid between $30,000 and $37,000," the documents obtained by USA Today explain. "Propelling Armstrong to win the Tour de France each year was the team's singular focus. He wielded an 'iron fist' and, together with the manager Johan Bruyneel, ran the team as a 'dictatorship.'" (Bruyneel, who was previously sued by the government, is not named in this case.)

The attorneys continue by listing a number of transgressions: "He monitored his teammates' use of banned substances, and, on at least one occasion, threatened to remove a rider if he did not use PEDs to prepare for races. He used in-race drug couriers, charted private jets to undertake blood extractions, and arranged cross-border transportation of extracted blood.

"No similar body of evidence exists with respect to any of Armstrong's former teammates," they write.

In submitting these documents, the USDJ may deter attempts by Armstrong's representation to claim selective prosecution: that he's been singled out from his teammates unfairly. 

Armstrong has tried to get the case against him thrown out before, on the basis that it's unfounded and that the USPS benefitted from the sponsorship.

"This case seeks recovery from the individual most culpable for the fraud against USPS, who directed the fraud, and who gained the most from the fraud," the government's filing reads. And that would be Armstrong.

The suit will be heard by US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, DC, on November 6. 

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