Lance Armstrong in 2009 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The US government has subpoenaed the Indiana University School of Medicine to provide Lance Armstrong’s medical records from the time of his treatment for cancer in 1996. The government’s intent is to find out if Armstrong’s doctors knew that he had used performance-enhancing drugs, according to USA Today.
The government is seeking the medical records as part of the whistleblower lawsuit, originally filed by Armstrong's former teammate Floyd Landis. The US Justice Department joined the case in 2013 in an effort to recover sponsorship funding paid by the US Postal Service to the team between 1996 and 2004.
Armstrong’s medical records could be used to try and prove the Texan’s doctors knew he had taken performance-enhancing substances, and that he conspired to cover it up. Betsy Andreu, the wife of another of Armstrong’s former teammates Frankie Andreu, testified that she heard Armstrong tell others that he used a series of banned substances during a conversation at the Indiana University hospital. Armstrong has said that he doesn’t recall the conversation.
The case could see Armstrong lose US$100 million, and a third of those damages could go the whistleblower, Landis. Armstrong has said he fears financial ruin because of this lawsuit.
According to USA Today, the US government also issued subpoenas for testimony from Armstrong's former sponsors Nike Inc., Trek Bicycle Corp., Giro Sport Design and Discovery Communications Inc.
