Word: wedtech
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
First, Meese was bluntly told by William Weld, chief of the Justice Department's criminal division, that he might be subject to indictment for his dealings with E. Robert Wallach, a central figure in both the Wedtech and Iraqi pipeline affairs. Weld and Deputy Attorney General Arnold Burns, the second in command, warned Meese that his behavior was "poisoning the department." Then the two officials, handpicked by Meese for their senior posts, publicly announced their resignations and those of four of their closest advisers...
Despite the onslaught, Ronald Reagan once again stubbornly expressed his "full confidence in my friend of 20 years." Meese blithely insisted that he had no intention of quitting. He was helped by a terse announcement from Independent Counsel James McKay that his probe of Meese's ties to Wedtech and the pipeline had turned up insufficient evidence to indict the Attorney General...
Both men decided, without telling Meese, that the Attorney General should be investigated by Independent Counsel McKay, who was probing former White House Political Adviser Lyn Nofziger's lobbying for New York City's scandal-tarred Wedtech Corp. As White House Counsellor in 1982, Meese helped Wedtech get what he called a "fair hearing" in landing a $32 million Army contract. A rare White House meeting to facilitate the contract had been held in the office of a top Meese aide, James Jenkins...
...counsel," says a department insider. "He made it known to Weld that it shouldn't go anywhere; it should be killed." On May 11, apparently aware that he could not block the probe, Meese pre-empted the impending announcement by publicly inviting McKay to look into his dealings with Wedtech...
...heart of Meese's troubles was his friendship with Wallach, who advised Meese during his difficult Senate confirmation as Attorney General in 1985. The wheeler-dealer lawyer had financial interests in both Wedtech and the proposed Iraqi oil pipeline that Meese tried to expedite. Wallach was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York City last December for illegally acquiring payments from Wedtech to influence Meese...