Hodel Says Iacocca ‘Lobbyists’ Passed Threat to White House

Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel, who will introduce Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee A. Iacocca at the Fourth of July Statue of Liberty ceremonies in New York, said Thursday that “lobbyists” for the popular executive threatened and pressured the White House in February to overrule the secretary’s decision removing the auto maker from a federal advisory board.

Hodel said the lobbyists told the White House that Iacocca would “bash” President Reagan, Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan and Hodel at a Chrysler news conference Feb. 13 unless Hodel rescinded his decision. Hodel had decided to fire Iacocca from an advisory board overseeing restoration of the Statue of Liberty.

“The White House said, ‘What about this?’ and I said, ‘Well, you can’t be in a position of having Lee Iacocca roll the President of the United States, so I think we need to make our announcement that we’ve made our decision and it’s done,’ ” Hodel said.

Hodel’s Version Denied

The secretary called a news conference that night, the eve of the company press conference, which was scheduled to announce Chrysler’s annual earnings.

A Chrysler spokesman characterized Hodel’s version of the events as “not true.” The spokesman said that no attempt was made to pressure the White House and that Iacocca did not plan to mention Hodel at the corporate press conference until Hodel announced the firing in Washington.

Hodel says he fired Iacocca from the advisory board because of a possible conflict of interest stemming from the auto maker’s dual position as chairman of a private foundation raising money for the restoration project.

The two men have not spoken since. Hodel said he probably will not refer to the situation when he introduces Iacocca, who will then introduce Reagan. “And I think Lee will probably play it straight in introducing the President of the United States,” Hodel added.