US attorney says no plan to prosecute Armstrong

US prosecutors said on Tuesday they have no plans to press criminal charges against cycling 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 status of the federal inquiry into long-standing claims that Armstrong had run a doping program and had 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 $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 Wednesday.

"We are still pursuing the suit, and we expect to file tomorrow," Dorough said.

SCA withheld a $5 million bonus due after Armstrong's sixth Tour de France win in 2004 because of doping allegations circulating in Europe, and Armstrong took it to court.

He won the case because SCA's original contract had no stipulations about doping, and Armstrong attorney Tim Herman told USA Today the shamed cyclist doesn't intend to pay back any of the money.

"My only point is no athlete ever, to my understanding, has gone back and paid back his compensation," Herman told the newspaper in an article published on Tuesday.

For years Armstrong denied doping, but he was banned last year after the US Anti-Doping Agency gathered compelling testimony that he had been the ring leader of a large-scale doping conspiracy.

While Armstrong told Winfrey he would like to get his lifetime ban reduced so he could eventually compete in marathons, for example, Herman said the shamed cyclist was now prepared to cooperate with anti-doping authorities in a bid to clean up cycling, even if his eligibility isn't restored.

(China Daily 02/07/2013 page22)