May 14, 2000 | Influence peddling may be Texas' chief commodity under Gov. George W. Bush. This time it's not the funeral industry seeking favors, but the diet-drug industry that allegedly got Texas regulators to back off tough controls of a dietary
supplement after lobbyists friendly to the governor were hired by a leading manufacturer and contributed to Bush's 1998 reelection campaign, according to TIME's Michael Weisskopf.Texas Health Commissioner
William "Reyn" Archer after proposing in May 1998 to restrict sales of weight loss products containing ephredrine – a stimulant linked to serious health problems – changed his mind and called in leading
manufacturers whom he allowed to negotiate the rules for selling their products. Up to that point, Weisskopf reports, Archer, the son of House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer, had been a crusading
regulator. "Archer reversed himself because of the ephedrine industry's strong opposition and its threats of litigation, his spokesman said. But records and interviews obtained by TIME suggest another
plausible reason: the office of Governor Bush encouraged, if not inspired, Archer's about-face after lawyers close to Bush began work for a leading manufacturer. Those same lawyers funneled $40,000 to Bush's
re-election drive about the time of a key industry meeting with Archer," according to TIME. Weisskopf found that "Metabolife International -- which makes Metabolife 356, the best-selling herbal diet
product in America -- hired a San Antonio law firm headed by some of Bush's closest political associates including Jeff Wentworth, a powerful state senator. Wentworth arranged a July 2, 1998 meeting between
Metabolife president Michael Ellis and Archer. Ellis says he called for a 'dialogue' with his industry in place of the tough regulatory stand--a position quietly being urged on Archer by the governor's
office, report two sources involved in the issue. Just days after Ellis' plea, Archer brought in an outside lawyer to help him and the state's board of health to negotiate a settlement with ephedrine
producers." Ron Lindsey, Bush's health care adviser, told TIME he doesn't recall pressuring Archer to drop his tough stand on ephedrine, but that he did support Archer's decision to negotiate with the
manufacturers. TIME, however, says it obtained a copy of Lindsey's 1998 calendar that shows he met, beginning in May of that year, with industry officials – "including Ralph Oats, the owner of Wellness
International Network, who, along with his wife, contributed almost $90,000 to the G.O.P. and national candidates in the mid-1990s." TIME says Lindsey admitted Metabolife lawyer James Jonas III paid him a
visit to "get leverage" on the issue, and that Bush and his chief of staff, Joe Allbaugh, were kept informed. Lindsey denied that there was any pressure from Bush or Allbaugh. TIME reports that
copies of Bush's calendar shows he met with Archer in mid-July and mid-September of that year – during "key junctures in the ephedrine negotiations" – and twice met with Wentworth at political events during
this period. A spokesman in the governor's office denied that Bush got involved in the negotiations or that he had any discussions with Metabolife's lawyers about ephedrine. |
