[…]The long-running federal investigation was unexpectedly dropped on Friday, with the near two-year enquiry into the team brought to an end by Birotte. His department issued a statement at the time, but didn’t articulate the reason for his decision.[…]

[…]In the hours and days since the decision, reaction has been varied. Predictably, Armstrong welcomed the announcement, saying on Friday that “it is the right decision and I commend them for reaching it.’ The UCI has also indicated satisfaction, with spokesman Enrico Carpani telling VeloNation that the sport must look forward, not back. 

“We don’t want to live with a very difficult relationship with the past. What happened in the past happened in the past,” he said. “We prefer looking into the future.”

As regards those who were driving the investigation, federal agent Jeff Novitzky has not yet commented, and neither have many others who were involved in pursuing evidence. Novitzky is however reported by several sources as being greatly frustrated by the decision to drop the case and, according to NPR’s Tom Goldman, it seems that others may also feel the same way. 

“Sources who know about the case say that within the agencies involved in the investigation, the FBI, the FDA, the US Postal Service, there is surprise, even shock and anger about the US Attorney’s decision,” he said on today’s NPR sports news. “Those agencies reportedly only got about a half hour notice that the decision was going to be announced. And this was after there had been indications that prosecutors were preparing to indict Armstrong and others on federal crimes, including mail fraud, drug distribution, wire fraud, witness tampering. […]


Read more: http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/11095/US-Attorneys-office-to-weigh-up-request-to-pass-over-evidence-in-ArmstrongUSPS-investigation.aspx#ixzz1likPNvQe

What a joke. Such hypocrisy coming from the UCI. The only thing that explains the US attorney’s decision to cease investigation typically requires tinfoil hats. I’m not one to throw around the conspiracy angle, but in this case there might be something to it—money may have exchanged hands somewhere… Just sayin’.