The Nation : Wife’s Partner Didn’t Lobby, Dixon Says

House Ethics Committee Chairman Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles) says he was never lobbied by a firm with which his wife now has a lucrative business deal, but the company’s law firm, according to papers filed with the Justice Department, says it contacted him on company business four times in 1986 and 1987. In written responses to questions about the meetings, Dixon said the documents contain “erroneous” information. He said the subject of Duty Free Shoppers Group Ltd., Betty Dixon’s partner, did not surface when he saw the firm’s lobbyist, Ron Brown, now Democratic national chairman. Brown could not be reached for comment. The firm is the majority partner in a group that operates stores at Los Angeles International Airport. The Dixons earned more than $150,000 in dividends in two years from the airport operation after investing between $5,000 and $15,000, according to Dixon’s financial statements.