Special Counsel Conflict Alleged in Nofziger Case

Former White House aide Lyn Nofziger is fighting the ethics charges against him with a motion suggesting that the independent counsel in the case may have to be dismissed because of a conflict of interest.

Nofziger, who pleaded not guilty on July 23 to six charges of improperly lobbying former Reagan Administration colleagues, said in court documents released Saturday that independent counsel James C. McKay’s law firm once represented one of the companies for which Nofziger is accused of lobbying.

Nofziger, once President Reagan’s political director, is accused of violating the 1978 Ethics in Government Act by lobbying on behalf of two defense firms and a labor union within a year after leaving government.

His pretrial motion filed Friday says McKay’s firm, Covington & Burling, represented one of the defense firms, Fairchild Industries Inc. of Chantilly, Va., in 1982.

The indictment accuses Nofziger of illegally lobbying on behalf of Fairchild on Sept. 24, 1982. The firm was trying to persuade the government to continue production of the A-10 military aircraft.

A-10 production was extended for a year and Fairchild received a contract for spare parts.

Nofziger’s lawyers said they “cannot determine definitively the extent (of) . . . a conflict of interest” for McKay, but said: “We have been advised tentatively that Covington & Burling’s representation of Fairchild in 1982 may have had some relationship to the A-10 aircraft. If accurate, the conflict problem would be all the more severe.” The motion asked for a hearing on whether McKay should be disqualified and on whether the indictment should be dismissed.

McKay was not immediately available for comment.