A group of democratic lawmakers Wednesday urged the U.S. Justice Department to drop any talks aimed at settling its racketeering case against cigarette makers, saying they would lead to weak sanctions against the industry.
In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, 50 senators and representatives expressed fears that Justice Department officials would reach an “insufficient” settlement with the major tobacco companies.
The lawmakers said their fears were based on rumors of a pending settlement and a decision made by senior department officials earlier this month to drastically scale back their request for a national, industry-funded quit-smoking program to remedy alleged misconduct by cigarette makers.
“We strongly urge you not to enter into a settlement at this time based on the unreasonably weak demands made by the government last week,” the lawmakers said in their letter to Gonzales.
A spokesman for the Justice Department said Gonzales would respond to the lawmakers’ letter when he returns from an overseas trip.
Tobacco companies targeted in the suit, including Altria Group Inc. and its Philip Morris USA unit, and Reynolds American Inc.’s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit, have refused to discuss any potential settlement talks.
The quit-smoking program was one of several legal remedies the Justice Department sought at the end of an eight-month civil racketeering trial in which the companies were accused of illegally conspiring to hide the dangers of smoking.
During closing arguments on June 7, government lawyers asked a federal judge to order the major tobacco companies to fund a five-year, $10 billion quit-smoking program if the judge finds them guilty.
Anti-smoking activists were angered because the cost was far smaller than the 25-year, $130-billion, quit-smoking program backed by a witness who testified for the government.
The decision to cut back the remedy was made over the objections of some members of the Justice Department trial team, according to one source. But Justice Department officials have said the decision reflected an earlier court ruling that any sanctions in the racketeering case could address only future misconduct.
Government lawyers have said the quit-smoking program could be extended if a court-appointed monitor finds continuing misconduct by the industry.
On Tuesday, lawmakers said the department had agreed, at their request, to investigate whether politics influenced the decision to reduce the proposed sanctions.
Also targeted in the lawsuit, filed in 1999, are Loews Corp.’s Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group; Vector Group Ltd.’s Liggett Group; and British American Tobacco Plc unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd.
The companies deny they illegally conspired to promote smoking and say the government has no grounds to pursue them after they drastically overhauled marketing practices as part of a 1998 settlement with state attorneys general.
