USADA board OK's formal Armstrong doping charges

(CBS/AP) AUSTIN, Texas - The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says its review board has made a unanimous recommendation to file formal doping charges against Lance Armstrong.

That will move the case to an arbitration hearing if Armstrong chooses to challenge, as he has indicated he would.

USADA confirmed the board's recommendation Friday after one of its members, Clark Griffith, told The Associated Press he "can't wait" to see what the arbitration panel thinks of the evidence.

USADA says it has evidence Armstrong was taking performance-enhancing drugs while winning the Tour de France from 1999-2005. Armstrong says he is innocent.

Earlier in the day, Armstrong had gone on the attack against Griffith, using his Twitter account to note that the Minneapolis attorney had earlier this year been charged in a misdemeanor case of indecent exposure.

"Wow. (at)usantidoping can pick em. Here's ... 1 of 3 Review Board members studying my case," Armstrong tweeted, linking to an online story about Griffith.

Griffith entered an Alford plea on June 13. Under the plea, Griffith did not admit doing anything wrong but acknowledged prosecutors have enough evidence for a jury to convict him. A 24-year-old student reported Griffith unzipped his pants in front of her on a St. Paul street.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 26. Griffith told the AP he's innocent and entered the plea to avoid a trial that would embarrass his family.

Griffith said Armstrong's tweet was "an effort to get away from the issues that will be dealt with by an arbitration panel. OK? By smearing me, that does nothing. I'm innocent of that."

USADA has not publicly released most of its evidence against Armstrong. Griffith would not discuss Armstrong's case in detail but said, "He's really scrambling .... I can't wait to hear what the arbitration panel thinks of the evidence."

A spokesman for Armstrong declined immediate comment.

Armstrong's legal team says Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton, former Armstrong teammates who have admitted using performance-enhancing drugs, are part of the USADA's efforts to prove the cyclist doped.

Landis and Hamilton part of Armstrong doping case

A letter sent from Armstrong's attorneys to USADA on Wednesday said the agency's alleged evidence against Armstrong includes previously disclosed Landis emails and Hamilton's 2011 interview with "60 Minutes." Both men accused Armstrong of doping.

Lance Armstrong: USADA breaking its own rules
Armstrong barred from Ironman France amid new doping charges
Armstrong formally charged for doping, Tour de France titles at risk

Armstrong says he's innocent and stresses that he's passed more than 500 drugs tests. USADA has said at least 10 former Armstrong teammates and associates will testify against him. The agency has said it would keep their names confidential to protect them from intimidation.

The letter was the first mention of specific names behind the allegations that Armstrong cheated while winning the Tour de France every year from 1999-2005.

In 2010, Landis wrote an email to USA Cycling chief Steve Johnson alleging he participated with Armstrong in a complex doping scheme when they were teammates. Hamilton's interview with "60 Minutes" aired in May 2011 (watch interview at left) during a federal criminal investigation into doping allegations against Armstrong. The two-year probe ended in February with no charges filed.