It ended quietly on a Friday afternoon as embarrassing moments for the government often do so as to minimize press attention. The announcement that the federal investigation of former cycling great Lance Armstrong over allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs had collapsed was largely ignored. It came in the form of a statement from the office of the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. No reason was cited for the decision. Neither the U.S. Attorney nor other government figures, such as investigator Jeff Novitzky, who were not shy about publicizing their pursuit of Armstrong in recent years, bothered to comment. Thus, the employees of several federal agencies who were involved in pursuing the vendetta against the seven-time Tour de France champion will perhaps now return to more useful work that will be a better way to spend the taxpayers’ money. Armstrong will continue his charity work on behalf of cancer research without the distraction of being sent to jail hanging over his head.
But this should not pass without comment.
