What the USADA is not wrote:
Not nothing wrote:I am not sure the USADA did NOTHING. The USADA is designed around catching drug cheats through drug tests.
Ever Heard... wrote:
Lance Armstrong was not caught through drug tests.
The USADA did not "catch" Lance. Most of the case against Lance was developed by the FDA, which has real legal powers. The FDA investigators shared their results with the USADA. That way, when the US attorneys closed down the FDA's investigation, USADA was able to use that evidence against Armstrong.
Everyone seems to forget that the USADA is a private organization, not a government agency. This means that when it investigates, it cannot use many of the tools used by the police or the FBI, such as subpoenas or search warrants.
One of the powers the USADA lacks is the power to take sworn testimony. The USADA only swears witnesses in during arbitration. Arbitration only occurs after an athlete or coach has been found guilty of doping and suspended. In other words, there is not testifying under oath during the investigations. As a result, nobody can be punished for lying under oath during a USADA investigation. .
The lack of an oath means that Goucher's challenge to everyone to give evidence to the USADA under oath is meaningless. The USADA simply does not have the power to take sworn testimony.
If someone like Goucher, who has talked to the USADA at some length is confused about how USADA works, it's not surprising that mere mortals are confused, too.
You're right. Of course, given both the charges against Salazar, and, frankly, what he's admitted to, it's not impossible that the FDA *is* involved if not the FBI. In some respects, the crimes that Salazar may have committed are somewhat mundane, but, given the publicity this has generated, just as with Lance (although, admittedly, that was much much bigger) I wouldn't be surprised if governmental agencies are involved.