On Sunday, Outside Magazine reported an incident between Tyler Hamilton and Lance Armstrong at a high-end Aspen restaurant. Wait, before we go any further: Cache Cache? For reals? The incident provoked a fair amount of comment, including here at the Cafe. Certainly, the encounter had its farcical elements, and really, who wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall there? It also may have caused nightmares for Armstrong's lawyers, because Hamilton has served as a witness in the Grand Jury investigation into Armstrong's possible doping and financial affairs.
Now today comes a report from Bonnie Ford at ESPN that confirms that there may be legal consequences from the Armstrong-Hamilton encounter. According to Ford's report, lawyers for Hamilton have "formally notified federal authorities" about the incident. In their view, the incident between the two men constituted "aggressive contact" on Armstrong's part. It is now up to the federal investigators to decide whether the Hamilton-Armstrong exchange represents witness tampering. Witness tampering in a federal investigation is a very bad thing. Ford explains what's at stake here, and also uncovers more details in the story. So you should go read her report now.