Word: textron
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Miller's troubles stem from events in the early 1970s, when he was president and then chairman of Textron Inc., a multibillion-dollar conglomerate. During his confirmation hearings, Miller declared flatly: "My company did not bribe anybody." In January, however, a lengthy SEC report charged that Bell Helicopter, a Textron division, had paid off a number of officials abroad, as it did in Iran, in order to obtain military contracts. Responding to this new evidence, Miller has adamantly maintained that he was innocent of perjury because he knew nothing of the bribes...
...appoint a special prosecutor was based in part on a technicality: the 1978 Ethics in Government Act, which requires the Attorney General to appoint an outsider to probe damaging accusations against Administration officials, was passed after the Justice Department had already begun looking into the charges against Textron. Civiletti added, however, that he had "very serious doubts that specific information sufficient to trigger the act has been developed indicating that Secretary Miller has violated any criminal law." Civiletti said he was directing the Justice Department "to proceed with all possible speed" to bring before a grand jury any evidence...
...claim the investigation is dawdling and the FBI has not even been called in, as would be expected in such a matter. Senator William Proxmire, chairman of the Banking Committee, which conducted the Secretary's confirmation hearings, contends that Civiletti has not tried to force testimony from top Textron and Bell officials, who might have told Miller of the bribes, by simply granting them immunity. Civiletti insists more witnesses will be called before the grand jury and "where necessary, their testimony compelled." Until they are, the question of whether or not William Miller lied under oath is unlikely...
...orchestra in search of a conductor. Treasury Secretary Miller is described by White House economic aides as "very slick and facile," but has been distracted by questions as to the accuracy of his testimony to Senate investigators about $5.4 million in bribes paid while he was chairman of Textron...
...special prosecutor to investigate possible perjury. Said Senator William Proxmire: "It appears clear that Mr. Miller's testimony before this [Banking] Committee in 1978 was false and misleading." Civiletti has been slow in pushing the inquiry of his fellow Cabinet member and has not questioned several top Textron executives. Referring to the Abscam scandal, Senator Robert Dole quips: "Maybe the Justice Department is so busy with members of Congress that it doesn't have time for Cabinet officers." But without a special prosecutor the nagging question will remain: As chairman of Textron, was G. William Miller...