Likely motivated by a potential jail stint, Lance Armstrong will now cooperate with the USADA, according to an ABC News report.
The disgraced cyclist’s about-face came after ABC reported that he was facing a federal investigation for witness tampering, obstruction, and intimidation and just hours before the USADA was set to permanently ban Armstrong for life from sport.
The USADA, the agency that investigated the cyclist’s performance-enhancing drug use, banned Armstrong from sport for life but set a deadline of last night for Armstrong to cooperate with their cleanup effort. The agency has said cooperating in its cleanup effort is the only path to Armstrong getting his sporting ban reduced and he now has till Feb. 20 to officially decide. It appears now he is willing to cooperate.
The news reports came after a statement by U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte, whose office conducted a criminal investigation of Armstrong, closing the probe a year ago without bringing any charges. Armstrong subsequently admitted to the drug use he long denied after USADA went ahead with its own investigation.
Birotte said that “we’ve been well-aware of the statements that have been made by Mr. Armstrong and other media reports. 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.”
Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler declined to say whether any other component of the department is investigating Armstrong, who admitted in an interview with Oprah two weeks ago to doping after he had been stripped of his seven Tour De France titles.
With AP