Lance Plays Hardball

Update: On February 3, 2012, the United States Attorney's office in Los Angeles announced that it had closed the investigation into Lance Armstrong's alleged use of performance enhancing substances. Justice Department Puts Brakes on Lance Armstrong Investigation. The US Attorney for Los Angeles, Andre Birotte Jr., took the highly unusual step of issuing a press release announcing the investigation had been closed, saying the release "was warranted by numerous reports about the investigation in media outlets around the world."

In September 2010 I blogged that Lance Armstrong had added legal and communications consultant Mark "master of disaster" Fabiani to his team in order to try to limit the damage to Mr. Armstrong's reputation caused by the federal government's performance enhancing substance investigation. "Lance Armstrong Hires Litigation Communications Consultant." In the wake of a recent "60 Minutes" story wherein Tyler Hamilton, a former teammate, alleged that Mr. Armstrong used banned substances, you can see evidence of Mr. Fabiani's aggressive style of litigation communications at a new website, "Facts 4 Lance." For example, Mr. Fabiani posted the following statement in regards to Mr. Hamilton:

Tyler Hamilton is a confessed liar in search of a book deal – and he managed to dupe 60 Minutes, the CBS Evening News, and new anchor Scott Pelley. Most people, though, will see this for exactly what it is: More washed-up cyclists talking trash for cash.

In addition, Mr. Armstrong has supplemented his legal team by retaining Robert Luskin of the Washington, DC firm Patton Boggs. Among others, Mr. Luskin is known for having represented Karl Rove during the Valerie Plame investigation. "Patton Boggs' Luskin Takes On Armstrong Accusers."

Finally, with the goal of adding some balance to this post, here's an interview with Mr. Hamilton's lawyer explaining why his client agreed to appear on "60 Minutes." "Q&A: Cyclist Tyler Hamilton's Lawyer On Why His Client Came Clean."