Won’t Seek to Try Nofziger Again in Lobbying Case, Prosecutor Says

The independent counsel who prosecuted former White House aide Lyn Nofziger on charges of illegal lobbying said Wednesday that he will not seek to retry the case, which was thrown out by an appeals court.

James C. McKay, the special prosecutor, failed to persuade the Supreme Court to reinstate Nofziger’s conviction. The court on Monday let stand without comment the appeals court ruling that overturned the conviction.

McKay said in a statement issued by his office that he had decided “not to proceed further with prosecution” of Nofziger, once a top aide to former President Ronald Reagan. He said that his decision was prompted by the lapse of time since the events involving Nofziger and by the court’s interpretation of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

“In these circumstances, McKay concluded that the substantial expenditure of public funds that would be required to reconstitute his office and prosecute Nofziger further would be unwarranted,” the statement said.

Nofziger, who served as White House political director from 1981 until early 1982, was convicted in 1988 of violating the Ethics in Government Act. The legislation imposes a one-year ban on the lobbying of former colleagues after a person leaves service in the federal government’s executive branch.

Nofziger was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $30,000 for lobbying top presidential aides within a year of his resignation on behalf of three private clients--the scandal-plagued Wedtech Corp., a maritime workers’ union and the Fairchild Corp.

But the appeals court overturned the conviction last June. It said the indictment should have been dismissed because it did not charge Nofziger with having “knowingly” lobbied on matters in which White House officials possessed a direct and substantial interest.