-Caveat Lector- Bush budget doesn't include funds to fight tobacco By KAREN GULLO, Associated Press WASHINGTON (April 25, 2001 1:11 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - The Bush administration has not asked Congress for money in its new budget to fund an enormous lawsuit against big tobacco companies, prompting concerns that the Justice Department may not be able to continue the suit. The administration has requested $1.8 million to pay salaries and staff costs for the tobacco litigation team in the department's civil division, Justice officials said. But no money has been sought to pay for legal work, such as gathering and analyzing millions of documents that tobacco companies have asked to see. The litigation team has estimated that it needs more than $57 million this year to keep working on the case, according to The Washington Post, which cited a March 12 memo sent by tobacco litigation lawyers to Attorney General John Ashcroft. The litigation team said that without more money, it can't keep pursuing the case. David Ogden, assistant attorney general and head of the department's civil division, had made the same argument last fall. The Justice Department suit, filed in September 1999, accused big tobacco companies of putting profits before health by concealing data showing that nicotine is addictive and that smoking causes disease. The government seeks to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in medical costs borne by federal health programs to pay for smoking-related illness. Tobacco companies have denied the charges. Republicans and members of Congress from tobacco states oppose the litigation and have tried to block the Justice Department from getting money to continue the suit. Congress redirected $11 million from other federal agencies to pay for the litigation and can do the same this year, Susan Dryden, Justice Department spokeswoman, said Wednesday. She would not confirm whether the department needs another $57 million. She said Ashcroft has not yet reviewed the memo. No decision has been made on whether to continue the lawsuit, she added. During his confirmation hearings Ashcroft said he would evaluate the litigation, which he opposed when he was in the Senate. President Bush said during the presidential campaign, "We've had enough lawsuits." Justice Department officials said the lack of a specific request for litigation money doesn't indicate the agency's position on the lawsuit, pointing out that there was no money in last year's budget for the suit beyond $1.8 million for staff costs and that funding level has been continued in the new budget request. "This budget does not take a position on the funding of tobacco" litigation, Paul McNulty, acting principal associate deputy attorney general, said at a budget briefing last week. Dryden said the decision about whether to continue the suit was a policy matter, not a budget issue. But money is crucial to the government's ability to process millions of pages of tobacco industry documents, some dating back to 1954, and a huge number of government documents the industry wants to see. A trial was to begin in January 2003. The lawsuit names Philip Morris Inc.; Philip Morris Companies; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; American Tobacco Co.; Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.; British-American Tobacco P.L.C.; British-American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd.; Lorillard Tobacco Co. Inc.; Liggett and Myers Inc.; the Council for Tobacco Research U.S.A. Inc., and the Tobacco Institute Inc. ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
