Watt Enters Plea of Not Guilty in HUD Scandal Case
Former Interior Secretary James G. Watt pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he hindered investigation of the Ronald Reagan-era scandal at the Housing and Urban Development Department.
“I have been knocked down in an embarrassing and humiliating way,” Watt told reporters outside the federal courthouse, “but I’m not knocked out.”
Watt, 57, is charged with covering up some of his work as a consultant seeking federal aid from HUD. Best known for his battles with environmentalists as President Reagan’s Interior secretary, Watt did the consulting after he resigned from the Cabinet in 1983.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth set a Sept. 26 trial date.
Watt is charged with perjury, unlawful concealment and obstruction of justice in a 25-count indictment obtained by Arlin Adams, the independent counsel investigating the HUD scandal.
Prosecutors suggest that Watt took advantage of his friendship with then-HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. to win housing funds for his clients. Adams said he will not charge Pierce.
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