Lance Armstrong fraud trial delayed until May 2018

Lance Armstrong’s $100 million fraud trial has been rescheduled to begin May 7, 2018 after a federal judge granted a request submitted by Armstrong to postpone.

The trial was originally scheduled to begin on November 7 of this year. Armstrong requested a delay, stating that the November date created a scheduling conflict for one of his attorneys, John Keker. On Friday, a six-month delay was granted.

In his initial request, Armstrong noted that Keker had represented him since 2011.

“Without revealing the contents of our communications, I can confirm I have regularly spoken with him regarding the case, that I rely on him, and that I hope he will be personally involved in the trial,” Armstrong stated.

Keker first requested a change in trial date in February of 2017, noting that he had a conflict, but that request was denied. Unlike that initial request, the plaintiffs in the case, the U.S. Government and Floyd Landis, did not oppose Armstrong’s latest request to delay.

The trial hinges on whether the U.S. Postal Service, a government entity, was damaged by Armstrong’s doping, which he admitted to in 2012, and whether his lies regarding doping constituted false claims against the government.

The six-month delay extends the start date of Armstrong’s trial to nearly eight years since Landis first filed his suit, and five years since the government joined him.