[Frank]

Maybe he should wait and see how the Landis decsion turns out...
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Cyclist Vinokourov hires Floyd Landis' lawyer in Tour doping case

July 27, 2007

AP - Jul 24, 12:55 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Alexandre Vinokourov has hired Floyd Landis' lawyer to defend him on blood doping charges that resulted in his ejection from the Tour de France.

Attorney Maurice Suh was in France on Friday and unavailable for comment, but his Los Angeles office said he was on the case for Vinokourov, who has denied doping.

"I can confirm we do represent Vinokourov," said Pearl Piatt, spokeswoman for the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm.

Suh, the former deputy mayor of Homeland Security and Public Safety for Los Angeles, joined the law firm as a partner last October. He was previously deputy chief of the public corruption and government fraud unit of the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.

ESPN.com, which first reported the news, also reported Howard Jacobs, another Landis attorney, was working on the case for Vinokourov, who tested positive for a banned blood transfusion. Telephone and e-mail messages to Jacobs weren't immediately returned Friday.

Suh and Jacobs are defending 2006 Tour champion Landis against charges that he tested positive for synthetic testosterone after the 17th stage of last year's Tour. Landis, who faces a two-year ban and the loss of his Tour title, has maintained his innocence and is awaiting a decision from a panel of arbitrators.

Vinokourov, a pre-race favorite to win the Tour, and his Astana team were forced out of the Tour on Tuesday.