Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 26, 1995 TAG: 9507260065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From The New York Times and The Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
It is the first time the federal government has moved against tobacco companies or their executives.
Investigators at the Justice Department's criminal division in Washington and the Manhattan office of the U.S. attorney have been reviewing industry documents and congressional testimony for some time.
The inquiry in Manhattan has been expanded to a full investigation in which corporate executives have been subpoenaed to testify and provide access to the thousands of private company documents on nicotine and the health hazards of smoking.
The possible convening of grand juries was reported Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal.
The top executives of the seven leading U.S. tobacco companies were questioned individually by a congressional committee in April 1994, and all testified under oath that they did not think that nicotine was addictive, that cigarettes caused disease or that their companies manipulated the level of nicotine in tobacco products.
But shortly after that testimony, documents from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. were made public that appear to contradict the testimony. Critics of the tobacco industry contend that the documents showed that company officials had known for years through their own research that cigarettes were addictive and harmful, and that they did research on these subjects to help design cigarettes while still denying knowledge of the hazards publicly.
As a result, several members of Congress wrote to Attorney General Janet Reno asking her to consider charges of perjury and fraud against the executives and the companies. She referred the matter to the department's criminal division.
At first, Justice Department officials said, the matter was treated as a routine request from members of Congress seeking an investigation. But in recent months the inquiries turned more serious and potentially ominous as the government moved toward convening grand juries, a step that could lead to criminal charges.
It is unusual but not unheard of for the government to seek perjury charges against people for their testimony before Congress. A Justice Department spokesman said the most recent federal perjury prosecution involving Congress related to testimony in 1986 about the Iran-Contra investigation.
Philip Morris U.S.A. confirmed late Tuesday that it had received a subpoena for ``some company documents'' from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The company said the subpoena was served ``following a June 8 New York Times article that made allegations about company documents and supposedly secret research, which we refuted in an as yet unpublished letter to The Times.''
The accusations of perjury and fraud are ``wholly without merit,'' the statement went on.
``It is clear from the recent news leaks and attacks against the company and industry that the FDA and many of its anti-smoking allies are engaged in a carefully orchestrated campaign to assert greater regulatory control over tobacco and to limit the rights of adults to make decisions for themselves.''
President Clinton is considering dropping efforts to regulate nicotine as a drug if tobacco companies agree to fund a massive national campaign against teen-age smoking, two congressmen said Tuesday.
The Food and Drug Administration and the White House are discussing ways to curb childhood smoking, including banning cigarette vending machines.
The plan given to Clinton on Monday by Reps. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Charlie Rose, D-N.C., would go much further. Under the proposal, Clinton would negotiate a ``memorandum of understanding'' with every U.S. tobacco company in which the industry would provide funding for states to stop tobacco sales to minors. The actual figure has not been determined but probably would be at least $100 million, officials said.
by CNB