Swiss Lab to FBI: Armstrong Test Was Fishy

Statements to feds throw new light on '60 Minutes' flap
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 2, 2011 9:10 AM CDT
Lance Armstrong Doping: Swiss Lab Tells FBI Test Was Fishy
In this Feb. 19, 2009 file photo, George Hincapie, left, rides next to Lance Armstrong during the fifth stage of the Tour of California cycling race near Hanford, Calif.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Lance Armstrong's drug tests in the 2001 Tour de Suisse returned "suspicious" results "consistent with EPO use," Swiss anti-doping lab chief Martial Saugy told the FBI last September, according to a new AP report. The revelation is the latest twist in the feud between Armstrong and 60 Minutes, which reported last week that Saugy had made such claims. Saugy denied this, saying the US team's samples had been suspicious, but he wasn't sure if Armstrong's specific sample was tainted. But that's not what he told US authorities, according to a source with inside knowledge of the investigation.

Saugy told them about Armstrong's tests on three occasions, and agreed to turn over the results. He never actually produced those results, however, prompting a letter from US authorities in April that asked him to submit his evidence. That letter was obtained by 60 Minutes. Armstrong's lawyer has already criticized the AP report, calling it a "lawless form of character assassination," and surmising that the AP source is the same as CBS'. Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter notes that 60 Minutes refuses to back down. Instead of uttering the apology Armstrong wanted, CBS News chair Jeff Fager issued the following: "60 Minutes stands by its story as truthful, accurate, and fair." (More Lance Armstrong stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X