Leavitt calls Oly image safe

The Olympic bribery scandal will not affect the success of the 2002 Winter Games in the eyes of the world, Gov. Mike Leavitt said today.

"The fact that this skirmish is going on is not going to alter that long-term perception," Leavitt said during a taping of his monthly press conference on KUED.

Leavitt said most people outside Utah won't by paying attention to a trial if Tom Welch and Dave Johnson wind up in front of a Utah jury after this week's 10th U.S. Circuit Court ruling that reinstated criminal charges against the duo.

"It will be lost on almost everyone in the world, except those of us who have to work through it."

Leavitt may have to do more than work through it. He is expected to be called to testify in the case, along with other state leaders.

When asked about the possibility he may take the stand, Leavitt said, "What happens happens."

The governor repeatedly reiterated his wish that the criminal prosecution of Welch and Johnson would just go away but said that is up to federal prosecutors to decide.

"I don't know that they broke any laws," he said. "We clearly broke the rules . . . to the extent that happened, we regret it."

Welch, 58, and Johnson, 44, again face 15 felony charges -- four counts of racketeering, one count of conspiracy and 10 fraud charges - - for allegedly lavishing more than $1 million in cash, scholarships and gifts upon members of the International Olympic Committee in their effort to bring the Games to Salt Lake City.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said Wednesday he would like top U.S. Department of Justice brass to take another look at the case and determine whether it is worth prosecuting.

"I am disappointed that this case has been dragged up again. Dave Johnson and Tom Welch should be honored for the legacy of the Salt Lake Olympic Games, not vilified for their efforts," Cannon said in a statement. "I hope there would be a review by senior Justice Department officials and that we will see a quick end to this case and it can be put to rest once and for all."

Leavitt, however, said he doesn't think the political arena is the appropriate forum to resolve the matter.

The governor on Thursday pointed out he was not a member of the Salt Lake Bid Committee and did not attend its meetings. He suggested that Welch and Johnson appeared to have an implicit understanding that they would do whatever it took to win the 1995 IOC vote.

Leavitt said he didn't know of anything he could have done to stop the former president and vice president of the bid committee. "If there was, we would have done it," he said.

The governor said the community still needs to feel the exuberance and pride of having hosted what many have called the best-ever Winter Games.

Political fallout from a Utah trial may also be felt as far away as New York City.

The Big Apple is bidding for the 2012 Summer Games, which will be awarded by the International Olympic Committee in 2005. New York City already faces tough competition from a number of world capitals, including Paris and Moscow, and now it must also deal with Tuesday's ruling.

While Utahns wonder who knew about the more than $1 million in enticements handed out by Welch and Johnson, Olympic insiders are worrying about America's latest bid for a Games.

"The biggest issue is how it might affect the New York City bid for 2012, which is facing a number of challenges on the international front," said Ed Hula, editor of the electronically published Olympics newsletter, "Around the Rings."

"When you have a federal trial potentially calling IOC members as witnesses . . . they have to wonder if they award the Games to the United States again, what kind of legal complications will there be as a result."

Some IOC members already found themselves entangled in the American justice system in the Salt Lake bribery scandal. Former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch was among those who were interviewed by the FBI about the alleged corruption.

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee endured several years of barbs from IOC members angry about their treatment. It was only after the success of the 2002 Winter Games that the anti-American sentiment seemed to slip away.

A spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee, which selected New York City to bid on behalf of the United States, said there's no reason to be concerned that those feelings may resurface because of the court ruling.

"This decision should have absolutely no bearing on New York City and its bid to host the 2012 Olympics," USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said. "We're confident New York will be evaluated on the strengths and merits of its bid."

The USOC, which itself is under investigation by a Senate committee because of unrelated organizational problems, did choose to knock Washington, D.C., out of the running for 2012 in part out of fear that the IOC still held a grudge from the scandal.

Among Utah's elite, the concern is who will be dragged in to testify. Witness lists for both the prosecution and the defense could include everyone from Leavitt to banking executive Spence Eccles, a member of the bid committee's inner circle. Also likely to be called is former Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, joined Cannon Wednesday in expressing his disappointment that the case is back in the spotlight.

Bennett said he "thought and hoped this was behind us. The facts in this case are well-known. The question is whether the facts show that laws were broken. . . . It appears that we'll have a trial to find out."

Defense attorneys now have 30 days to either ask the full 10th Circuit to review the decision or file paperwork with the U.S. Supreme Court for a possible appeal.

The matter was two weeks away from trial in July 2001, when U.S. District Judge David Sam dismissed the first four racketeering charges against the men. The case was put on hold, and Sam in November tossed out the remaining 11 charges, much to the relief on many Utahns worried about the effect a trial would have on the upcoming Games.

The appeals court this week ruled that Sam erred when he determined that federal prosecutors inappropriately relied on a rarely used Utah bribery statute to charge Welch and Johnson. The senior judge ruled that the state statute was unconstitutional and could not be used as a predicate to charge the two men under the federal Travel Act.

The unanimous, three-judge panel chided Sam for suggesting that the government overstepped its authority in filing the charges, especially when the Utah Attorney General's Office declined to bring a similar state action against Welch and Johnson.

Contributing: Angie Welling, Lee Davidson.

E-MAIL: lisa@desnews.com

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