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Show A The Daily Herald Friday, February 5, 1993 Senators want to close loopholes for lobbyists Attorney in LA. trial reprimanded By JIM DRINKARD Associated Press Writer - LOS ANGELES (AP) A defense attorney in the Rodney King case has been slapped with a gag - WASHINGTON Superlob-byiRobert Strauss scored a maorder for remarks the judge jor coup two years ago when he deemed inflammatory. helped engineer the $6.6 billion In a sharply worded order sale of MCA Corp. to the Japanese Thursday, U.S. District Judge industrial giant Matsushita. But despite his John Davies barred Harland role, Braun, who represents Officer Strauss never registered as a lobTheodore Briseno, from publicly byist for the foreign firm under the discussing prospective jurors' ' Foreign Agents Registration Act, qualifications or prosecutors' mo- - according to Senate investigators, who say such gaps in lobbyist regtives. ulation are common. Braun "questioned the morality "The holes are bigger than the of any juror willing to acquit the said Sen. Carl Levin, uncheese," that civil defendants, knowijig who launched an effort rest may result," the judge said. "Such comments are purely Thursday to require greater disclosure of Washington lobbyists' acspeculative and highly improper and have evoked understandable tivities. "The public has a right to anger from elected officials and ' know who is being lobbied, by from the public." whom, and how much they are being paid." Senate files are full of examples. Lobbyists for foreign automakers worked to keep down tariffs on imported minivans but claimed exfrom registering as forHil-, emption WASHINGTON (AP) And a lawyer for Coleign agents. won raves lary Rodham Clinton from Democratic senators after ombia's Cali drug cartel worked her first trip to Capitol Hill in against changes in extradition treaties but failed to register. search of ideas for President Clin"The entire system is a horror ton's health reform plan. Senate Majority Leader George story," said Ellen Miller, who heads the Center for Responsive Mitchell, predicted after which attempts to shed Thursday's meeting that Congress Politics, on the connections between light will enact a health package this and money politics. "Unless the of and "a major part year, credit will be due to the effort and someone sits down face to face, one on one, with a member of Conthe leadership of Mrs. Clinton." gress, it's not regarded as lobbSen. Patrick Leahy, the called unprecedented policy ying."' session with Mrs. Clinton "ex"There are thousands that don't traordinary." register," said John L. Zorack, a .,, "What impressed all of us is that lobbyist for small businesses and Mrs. Clinton obviously had a very author of a lobbying handbook. Strong understanding of these comst high-profi- le ; ' h., ; ; Hillary wins praise from senators ! t - - D-V- t., plex Ag Secretary warns - OutWASHINGTON (AP) breaks of food poisoning like one last month that killed one child and left hundreds of other people ill could happen again, Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy said today. Espy told a Senate Agriculture subcommittee that it is impossible now to prevent other outbreaks, "but we are moving on a separate track to be sure it is possible in the future." we have deveincludes improvements in ed- The "strategy loped ucation, regulations, testing, en- - forcement and research," he said. However, Espy said, "I am not in a position to provide you with r information on the administra-- , tion's position on funding for spe-- ! cific proposals and activities." He ' has said it would be expensive. I J ! ! ; ; ! ; ; ; ; ! many loopholes. But there has been little success, often because lobbyists apply their skills to heading off the changes. But this year may be different, Levin said. Voters are more convinced than ever that Washington is in the hands of special interests, and President Clinton is lending his direct support to lobbying reform. Vice President Al Gore appeared with Levin and other sponsors of the reform bill at a Capitol Hill news conference. "We're committed to reforming the way our government does business," Gore said, standing alongside Sen. William Cohen, and and Reps. John Bryant, George Gekas, The proposed new restrictions would broaden the definition of lobbying to better reflect current reality. Gone would be exemptions for lawyers, for lobbying congressional aides (as opposed to lobbying members of Congress themselves), or for lobbying executive branch officials. Indirect efforts to influence the government, such as ginning up floods of mail, would be included as well. The proposal also would require for the first time that lobbyists disclose roughly how much they spend to influence But in what some regard asa weakness, lobbying reports would be filed just twice a year, instead of quarterly as under current law. And lobbyists would be required to report only which agency or committee they contact, not the names of individuals. R-P- a. policy-makin- g. issues." of food poisoning , Since the basic lobbying statute was passed in 1946, numerous attempts have been made to close its Report on Iraqi loans finds CIA, FBI bungling By RUTH SINAI Associated Press Writer - WASHINGTON The CIA concluded three years ago that managers of an Italian government bank knew of loans by their Atlanta office to Iraq, but the information never reached prosecutors in the case against the branch manager, a Senate panel reported today. The Senate Intelligence Committee, releasing the results of a h staff investigation, found "numerous problems in the relationship between law enforcement and intelligence." But it attributed them to bureaucratic bunthree-mont- gling rather than intentional wrongdoing, and was vague in ascribing blame to any individual agency or person. e The study found that , five CIA reports citing knowledge of the Iraqi loans by BNL's managers in Rome were conveyed to the Wom- - FBI or the Justice Department, but WASHINGTON (AP) en who accused Sen. Bob Pack- - said neither officials handling the wood of sexual harassment say case in Washington nor the prosethey're encouraged by new Senate cutors in Atlanta could recall Ethics Committee rules that pro- - seeing those documents. hibit the consideration of their sex- The investigators found that ual histories in the panel's investi-- i CIA analysts were unfamiliar with the prosecutors' case, that the gationofthe Oregon Republican. "It may encourage some people agency's filing system prevented to come forward who have been relevant information from being worried about what they may have found in a timely manner, and that to go through." said one of the the Justice Department failed to accusers, former Packwood staffer adequately review and disseminate Julie Williamson. the intelligence it got from the The committee met Thursday in closed session, where its six mem-- ! bers set the guidelines for the pre- -' liminary inquiry started against Packwood late last year. WASHINGTON (AP) The Mafia blackmailed the late FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover with photos allegedly show ing him engaged in homosexual acts, which effectively delayed a crackdown on orFeder-- ; WASHINGTON (AP) ganized crime by decades, a new al Judge Kimba Wood is President book contends. Clinton's "expected choice" for "The homosexual thing was attorney general, senior adminis-- j Hoover's Achilles' heel," Seytration officials say. mour Pollock, an associate of One senior official contacted mobster Meyer Lansky, is quoted Thursday night by The Associated as saying in the book by Anthony Press described the ConfiSummers. "Official and New York woman as "the over-- ; dential: The Secret Life of J. Edwhelming favorite and likely gar Hoover." choice," but said a final decision "Meyer found it and it was like hinged on an FBI background he pulled strings with Hoover. He check. never bothered any of Meyer's The official said an announce-- ! Pollock said in 1990. acpeople," mcnt wasn't likely until early next cording to excerpts from the book week. released Thursday by Vanity Fair. A second official described The book, published by G.P. Wood as "the expected choice" to Putnam's Sons, and a "Frontline" head the Justice Department, but airing Tuesday on said anyone describing her sclec- - documentary PBS detail extensive contacts betion as definite "mav have jumped tween Hoover and top organized the min " Panel sets rules in Packwood probe - 163-pag- CIA. Thus, the prosecution's case was based on the premise that the bank manager acted on his own to defraud the.Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. The case unraveled last year with various disclosures of contradictory information and was eventually thrown out . The Question of what the CIA knew about the activities of BNL I and the Iraqi weapons purchasing network that its Atlanta branch helped finance has been one of the central mysteries in the complex affair. The affair, which unfolded at the height of the election campaign last year, involved a series of accusations by Democrats that the Bush administration knew about Iraq's ambitious armament programs yet chose to ignore them . The panel's findings paralleled to some extent those of a special investigator. Judge Frederick appointed last fall by Bush's Attorney General, William Barr, in response to Democrats' de- Couple hopes GM crash settlement will prevent further fatal accidents By MARC RICE AP Business Writer Female judge may be Clinton nominee ; ; J ! ; J ; ! ! I I J - The state jury found the world's biggest automaker neglik gent Thursday in the design of a pickup. It ordered fuel-tan- i r LJ "1 ifzzM rv Fwemi ViM W'dbX 4 compensatory damages to the Moseleys, whose son Shannon was killed when his 1985 truck burst into flames in a crash in 'V 1 J UlJM 1 ,J r v L Ji ft rw Consumer advocates and oth- ers say the verdict increases pressure for a recall of millions of older GM trucks. "This award was so large, they'll have to recall the vehicle," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a Washington consumer advocacy group. "If GM fights this, it will be a greater disaster than the Exxon Valdez. It shows such callous disregard for human life." Jurors said they felt GM had 8 ignored evidence its trucks, with twin gas tanks mounted "sidesaddle" outside the truck frame, were unsafe. "They made no honest effort to notify the public of the danpre-198- ger," said juror Otis L. Rowan. He and fellow juror John Dale said the jury hoped the verdict would persuade GM to order a recall, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to I A I tV--f mr I t-- i itn Source: Court documents Randall Grant, Atlanta (Ga.) Journal Constitution via AP 1989. force a recall of the 4.7 million older trucks still in use. GM said it would appeal and insisted the truck's design was not responsible for the teenager's death. Georgia law gives the judge the option to increase or lower a jury award, but Judge A.L. Thompson did not say whether he would. "Our continuing review indid cates that there is no defect ... and we therefore do not believe that a safety recall is necessary or required," the automaker said in a statenfent. A recall to repair the remaining trucks still on the road could cost GM $500 million to $1 billion, according to analyst estimates. Moseley died after his truck was hit by a drunken driver. His parents claimed that the placement of the fuel tanks caused one to explode and burn him to death. safety-relate- was GM argued the dead of head injuries before the fire started. "A trial such as this one inevitably is conducted in an emotionally charged atmosphere," the company said in a statement after the verdict was issued. "It is not surprising that jurors sometimes can look past the complicated technical facts and judge large companies on an emotional level in sympathy with the plaintiff." teen-ag- er Family attorney James E. Butler Jr. was doubtful that the automaker would recall the trucks voluntarily. He said it was "appalling" that GM called the verdict an emotionil decision. "It makes you wonder what it will take to change the corporate mentality of General Motors," he said on "Today." The award was the largest ever against GM. 8 r ' fVI !' N if .'jo 11 tor. Although it did not find any evidence that the CIA intended to mislead the court or the public, the Senate panel concluded that attorneys at the Justice Department and the intelligence agency gave Atlanta Judge Marvin Shoob a Sept. 17 letter last year although they knew it was "highly misleading." long ago as the 1930s. '1 If II If H GM to pay $101 million in punitive damages and $4.2 million in mands for an independent prosecu- promising photos of homosexual activity between Hoover and longtime aide Clyde Tolson that allegedly were obtained by Lansky and mobster Frank Costcllo. Hoover, as FBI chief, made a habit of squirreling away information about the sexual lives of Washington's power elite, includEling John and Robert Kennedy, eanor Roosevelt and others, according to a number of biographers. Hoover, who headed the FBI from 1924 until his death in 197?., was rumored to be homosexual as "side-sadd'e- 7 court." La-ce- y, rime figures. Some were friendly, stemming from the FBI director's penchant for betting on horse races many allegedly fixed by mobsters to enand his sure that Hoover won love of high living, some of it financed by the mob. But there was a stick along with these carrots, and that was com- gas tank designs Chevrolet and GMC full-sipickups were built with fuel tanks which were installed outside the vehicle's frame. The design was changed on 1 988 models. 1973-8- A couple who ATLANTA won a $105.2 million judgment against General Motors Corp. for the death of their son said today they pressed the case to keep others from dying in crashes of older GM pickup trucks. "There're still trucks out there," said Elaine Moseley, who appeared this morning with her husband, Thomas, on NBC's "Today" show. "We didn't feel that we could afford not to take the opportunity to get it to I A j Book alleges Mafia, Hoover ties I GMC j Discontinued models of Extra Heavy Duty (Type 1A, 300 lb.) Rated 1 Year Warranty HINGE allows you to convert BUTTON Patented PUSH to lean-t- o ladder positions. instantly from 4 ft. to 9 ft. 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