81.   The document carries added weight since IOC members were prohibited from visiting the bid cities in the wake of the Salt Lake City vote-buying scandal.

82.   The eight bid cities are Dallas, Houston, New York, San Francisco-San Jose, Tampa, Washington-Baltimore, Cincinnati and Los Angeles.

83.   The defendants deny any criminal wrongdoing and said they did nothing unusual for a bid city.

84.   The evaluation report carries added weight since IOC members are prohibited from visiting the bid cities in the wake of the Salt Lake City vote-buying scandal.

85.   The final days of the race have been dominated by a series of controversies and allegations surrounding the bid cities.

86.   The IOC at that time convened representatives of all bid cities in Lausanne, Switzerland, and questioned them about the bid process and any abuses.

87.   The IOC had asked bid cities to detail any cases of improper behavior or requests by committee members.

88.   The IOC will now review the reports it requested from about two dozen bid cities.

89.   The other bid cities are Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Cape Town, South Africa.

90.   The rules apply to the IOC, national Olympic committees, Olympic organizing committees and bid cities.