U.S. got what bargained for in Lance Armstrong, his lawyers say

In papers filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Armstrong's lawyers said the Postal Service benefited from the sponsorship and they asked a judge to dismiss the federal government's fraud lawsuit demanding its money back.

"The government wanted a winner and all the publicity, exposure and acclaim that goes along with being his sponsor. It got exactly what it bargained for," the lawyers wrote. The Postal Service is an arm of the federal government.

The once-revered athlete is fighting to hang on to what remains of his reputation and his earnings after he was stripped last year of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from cycling.

In February, a month after Armstrong admitted to doping, the Justice Department said it was joining a fraud suit filed in 2010 by Floyd Landis, a former Armstrong teammate. Landis filed the suit under a federal law that allows whistle-blowers to report fraud in exchange for a reward.

The Postal Service paid $40 million from 1998 through 2004 to have Armstrong and his teammates from Tailwind Sports wear its logo during record-breaking wins. At least $17.9 million of these fees went to Armstrong, according to the government.

U.S. got what bargained for in Lance Armstrong, his lawyers say

 While the court papers argued that the suit was filed too late, Armstrong's lawyers separately asked U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins, who is overseeing the case, to dismiss Landis' complaint against his former teammate.

 Landis won the Tour de France in 2006 but was stripped of the title a year later after testing positive for synthetic testosterone.

The fact that Landis, like Armstrong, used performance-enhancing drugs should prevent him from suing under the False Claims Act and getting a reward, Armstrong's lawyers wrote.

"Landis defrauded his fans and other donors in order to amass a fund to pay the legal fees he racked up litigating his false denials," they wrote. "Now he would like to be paid for casting the first stone."

The False Claims Act, which dates to 1863, allows whistle-blowers to sue over suspected fraud involving U.S. government money and, if successful, get a percentage of whatever the government recovers.