US prosecutors have no plans to charge Lance Armstrong
Attorney says criminal charges are not on the agenda at the moment despite Armstrong confessing to doping in his Tour de France wins
US prosecutors say they have no plans to press criminal charges against drug cheat Lance Armstrong, despite his confession that he owes his Tour de France victories to illegal doping.
US Attorney Andre Birotte, who led a federal investigation into the disgraced rider, did not definitively rule out action, but said Armstrong's public admission had not yet changed the decision not to prosecute.
"We made a decision on that case, I believe, a little over a year ago," he said, when asked about the federal inquiry into long-standing claims that Armstrong ran a doping programme and lied to federal agents.
"Obviously we've been well aware of the statements that have been made by Mr Armstrong and other media reports," he said, referring to Armstrong's bombshell confession to chat show legend Oprah Winfrey last month.
"That has not changed my view at this time. Obviously we'll consider - we'll continue to look at the situation, but that hasn't changed our view as I stand here today," Birotte said.
However, the 41-year-old Texan faces other legal battles after being stripped last year of his record seven Tour de France titles.
Dallas insurance company SCA Promotions has already demanded the return of US$12 million in bonuses it paid to Armstrong for multiple Tour victories, and SCA attorney Jeff Dorough said the firm expected to file a lawsuit against Armstrong as early as today.
