Nofziger, in Deposition, Admits Assignment to Lobby Reagan

Former White House aide Lyn Nofziger acknowledged under oath in 1983 that he had been hired by a California company to get its “side of the story” to President Reagan in a rice-exporting case.

Nofziger said that he became a Washington consultant for Comet Rice Inc. in the summer or early fall of 1982, less than a year after he left the White House staff.

“I was hired to help get one side of the story to the governor (Reagan),” Nofziger said in a deposition, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, taken in Washington on May 4, 1983. Nofziger, a longtime political adviser, often calls Reagan “governor” from his days as chief executive of California.

Already Under Investigation

Federal ethics laws prohibit former high-ranking government officials from lobbying at their old agencies for a year after leaving. Nofziger is already under investigation in connection with similar lobbying for another client, the Wedtech Corp., a New York-based defense contractor.

Nofziger could not be reached for comment. He has repeatedly declined to comment since the investigation of his lobbying on behalf of Wedtech came to light last month.

Comet Rice, a subsidiary of Early California Industries of Los Angeles, enlisted Nofziger in connection with a contract it had signed with the South Korean government on May 8, 1982, to ship 370,000 tons of California rice.

1981 Rice Sought

The award specified rice from California’s 1981 crop. But Comet, a rice milling company in the Sacramento Valley, had fewer than 150,000 tons when it signed the agreement.

According to later congressional testimony, Comet officials had been hoping to buy the rest from the two big cooperatives that dominate rice production in California. But the co-ops, which had bid unsuccessfully for the Korean contract, were unwilling to sell at the price Comet offered.

Since the 370,000-ton rice deal was the final piece of a government-to-government pledge South Korea made to the United States in the final days of the Jimmy Carter Administration, Comet sought support from the State Department. The company had wanted permission to substitute 1982 rice for the 1981 crop.