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Studies conducted for the postal service point to huge financial benefits from the sponsorship.
The government could argue that all of the recent controversy tarnishes the whole sponsorship and has damaged the postal service.
But the USPS sponsorship ended long ago and relatively few people reading stories about the current controversy are associating Armstrong with the post office. Armstrong’s last sponsor for his final two Tours de France was Radio Shack, in 2009 and 2010.
The studies for the postal service state that the agency reaped at least $139 million in worldwide brand exposure in four years — $35 million to $40 million for sponsoring the Armstrong team in 2001; $38 million to $42 million in 2002; $31 million in 2003; and $34.6 million in 2004.
Despite those numbers, Armstrong is fighting an uphill battle.
The government has a potentially strong weapon on its side: An argument could be made that until recent months there was an active, ongoing conspiracy to cover up Armstrong’s alleged fraud. If the case ever goes to trial, that argument could persuade a judge to allow in a huge amount of evidence on Armstrong’s use of performance-enhancing drugs dating back to the 1990s — evidence that would be barred from the government’s court case as too old if there were no extended conspiracy.
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