Lawyers for Jones attack investigation

SAN FRANCISCO — Marion Jones’ legal team has gone on a public relations offensive, poking holes in the evidence U.S. doping officials are using to investigate the star sprinter and possibly ban her from the Olympics.

Jones’ lawyers showed documents received from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to the Associated Press on Tuesday and explained why they believe there is no compelling evidence that Jones used steroids.

The documents, seized in a raid of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative last year, contain negative urine tests purportedly from Jones; a ledger of those test results; a calendar with the initials M.J. that investigators implied was a schedule for steroid use during 2001; and a check written from Jones’ bank account to BALCO founder Victor Conte.

Conte was one of four men indicted earlier this year for involvement in an alleged steroid-distribution ring. Many top athletes, including Jones and baseball slugger Barry Bonds, have been linked to Conte and BALCO, and testified before a federal grand jury last year.

A Senate committee obtained evidence from the grand jury and gave it to USADA in hopes of guaranteeing a drug-free U.S. Olympic team in Athens in August.

Jones’ lawyers deny the documents were about Jones, who won five medals at the 2000 Olympics, and that any evidence falls far short of the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard USADA says it will use to ban athletes from the Olympics without a positive drug test.

“They are using statements, documents, rumor and innuendo that can not be corroborated,” said Jones’ attorney, Rich Nichols. “To accuse and ban an icon of the Olympics in track and field, a Marion Jones, who has never tested positive in her career, it’s unbelievable.”

USADA director of legal affairs Travis Tygart would only say that Jones’ team was given documents at Monday’s meeting.

It was not clear if this was all of the evidence USADA has against Jones. But her lawyers said it matched what they saw in November and have no reason to believe that prosecutors or USADA was holding anything back.

The most incriminating evidence, if proven accurate, is the calendar that runs from March-August 2001 and has references to many track and field events during that season. It alleges to show a schedule of drug use with a note saying “start clear” on March 29.

Last summer, the “clear” was determined to be the substance tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG — which was at the center of the BALCO investigation.

Many of the dates have the letters C, E, G and I. The letter C appears to refer to THG, and the New York Times cited a government affidavit saying E could be the masking agent epitestosterone, G could be human growth hormone, and I could be insulinlike growth factor.

There were also references to Trevor, C.J. and Victor, which appear to be her former coach, Trevor Graham, her then-husband C.J. Hunter, and Conte.

But Jones’ lawyers poked holes at the calendar evidence, saying that the M.J. could stand for anyone; the fonts for March and April were different now than in November; and that there were three pages for July, including two that had times that appeared to be from men in the 100 meters. The times were 9.84 seconds, 9.86 and 9.97, which are all more than a half-second better than the women’s record of 10.49.