Expanded Probe of Espy Approved by Appeals Court
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that an investigation of former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy could be widened to include possible improprieties by his associates.
Espy resigned in 1994. Donald Smaltz was named independent counsel to determine whether Espy improperly accepted gifts from people and companies doing business with the Agriculture Department. Espy says he did not break the law.
Smaltz asked the District of Columbia federal appeals court for permission to expand his work on grounds he had found evidence of possible wrongdoing by Espy associates.
The Justice Department opposed the request. It argued that the matter uncovered by Smaltz was not strongly linked to the Espy probe and that ethics laws required concurrence by Atty. Gen. Janet Reno.
The appellate court avoided disclosing the new evidence but said Smaltz proved the connection to his gift-for-favors review of Espy.
Smaltz’s office declined to comment on the ruling or the matter that prompted it.
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