Agriculture Secretary Is Subject of Probe

The Justice Department is investigating reports that Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy accepted free travel and tickets to a sporting event from Tyson Foods Inc. of Arkansas, the country’s largest poultry firm, a spokesman said late Wednesday.

“Secretary Espy welcomes this review and what he believes will be a positive outcome,” said Agriculture Department spokesman Steve Kinsella.

The inquiry raises further doubts expressed by critics of the department as to whether the Administration is treating sanitary inspections of the poultry industry more leniently than the beef industry.

The criticism stems from Tyson’s connection to President Clinton, former governor of Arkansas. James Blair, Tyson’s general counsel, and his wife, Diane, are close friends of the Clintons. And Tyson Foods is represented by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s former law firm, Rose Law Firm.

Kinsella refused to comment on a New York Times report in today’s editions that the inquiry has broadened to travel and lodging Espy received from Tyson when Espy visited Arkansas in May, 1993.

The inquiry began after the Agriculture Department’s inspector general referred information to the FBI, the newspaper reported.