Sports Illustrated Bombshell: Federal Inquiry Into Lance Armstrong, ‘Doping Operation’

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Reuters

In an astonishing new story, Sports Illustrated delves into the ongoing investigation of Lance Armstrong’s alleged connection to an “organized doping operation,” all the while reexamining past doping allegations.

SI reports that Armstrong is facing a possible indictment by a grand jury because of an FDA investigation probing a doping scandal that focuses on the period of 1999 to 2004, when Armstrong was a member of the team sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, an independent agency of the federal government.

(More on TIME.com: See 10 Questions with Lance Armstrong)

In light of the inquiry, SI says it reviewed years worth of documents and parsed new and old allegations against Armstrong, discovering details which are now coming to light for the first time.

So just how serious is this federal inquiry? According to SI, very serious. They write that if Armstrong is found to be involved, the consequences would be hefty: “[B]ecause government sponsorship is involved, if evidence suggests that Armstrong was directing illegal doping activity, the inquiry could result in charges against him of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, racketeering, drug trafficking and defrauding the U.S. government.”

Read the full story at SI.com