Federal agencies must not operate unchecked

Re “A Donor Who Had Big Allies,” Jan. 8

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. dropped its suit against Charles Hurwitz and Maxxam Inc. because it was without merit. The attempt to link a decade-long legal battle to political misdeeds in Washington, D.C., misses the real villains.

An Aug. 25 article in The Times, “Government Must Pay in Ploy for Redwoods,” quoted U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes’ decision against the FDIC as stating that Hurwitz and Maxxam “will recover their costs because the records reveal corrupt individuals within a corrupt agency with corrupt influences on it.”

Elected officials must ensure that federal agencies cannot operate unchecked. In this case, we believe justice was done.

J. KENT FRIEDMAN

Vice Chairman of the Board

and General Counsel

Maxxam Inc., Houston