Quayle Aide Did Not Violate Ethics Laws, White House Says

The White House counsel’s office has investigated a senior aide to Vice President Dan Quayle and concluded that he did not violate federal ethics laws by participating in a review of federal regulations affecting companies in which he has a financial interest.

However, sources in Quayle’s office said that the aide, Alan B. Hubbard, may still put his multimillion-dollar holdings into a blind trust as a result of the growing controversy over what critics say is a conflict of interest.

The finding by the White House counsel’s office was issued on the eve of a congressional hearing called to examine the role that Hubbard, the executive director of the White House Council on Competitiveness, played in efforts to weaken rules now being drafted to implement the 1990 Clean Air Act.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) and other Democrats have accused Hubbard of a conflict of interest because his personal financial holdings include co-ownership of a chemical plant and stock in a utility company that could be affected by the rules that the council is reviewing.

While Hubbard has refused to appear before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee chaired by Waxman, the White House said in a letter to the lawmaker that it had reviewed the conflict-of-interest allegations and found them groundless.

“We conclude that Mr. Hubbard has complied with all applicable conflict-of-interest standards,” wrote Gregory S. Walden, associate counsel to the President. Walden added that the Office of Government Ethics, the agency monitoring executive branch compliance with ethics laws, concurred with his findings.

The letter noted that Hubbard had resigned from the boards of several companies and pledged to excuse himself from involvement in any decisions having “a direct and predictable effect on any of his financial interests” when Quayle granted him a waiver of conflict-of-interest laws last June.

Hubbard, an Indiana businessman whose net worth is estimated at $9 million, is co-owner of World Wide Chemicals, an Indianapolis firm that manufactures automotive cleaning products.