JAMES WATT INDICTED

  • Share
  • Read Later
In an indictment that caught even insiders by surprise, Reagan Administration Interior Secretary James Watt today was charged with lying to federal authorities about more than $500,000 worth of consulting he did to help firms secure millions in Department of Housing and Urban Development funding. Watt faces a top penalty of up to five years in prison for each of 25 counts of perjury, unlawful concealment and obstruction of justice. The federal indictment charges that Watt -- who left Interior in 1983 -- lied to Congress and to a grand jury that was investigating the Reagan Administration HUD scandal, and withheld documents that contradicted his denials of lobbying agency employees from1984 to 1986. "I did not lie to the Congress or to the grand jury nor in any way obstruct justice," Watt retorted in a written statement.