WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Department investigators have determined that no improper political pressure was applied to members of a board that rejected a request by United Airlines last year for a federal loan guarantee.
The department's inspector general, in a report issued Wednesday, cleared top agency officials of allegations they improperly tried to influence the vote by the three-member Air Transportation Stabilization Board.
The report did find that Treasury's representative on the board, then-Undersecretary Brian Roseboro, told investigators he had felt compelled to reconsider his initial rejection of the requested loan guarantee.
The report was obtained by The Associated Press and other news organizations under the Freedom of Information Act.
''Our investigation did not develop evidence that Roseboro was subjected to political pressure related to his vote on the UAL loan request or efforts to reconsider it,'' the report said.
It also concluded that discussions between Treasury Secretary John Snow and House Speaker Dennis Hastert about United's loan request were not improper. Further, the report said meetings involving other Treasury officials and United representatives did not violate any laws or standards of ethical conduct.
Hastert, whose Illinois district includes United's headquarters, has been an advocate for the airline.
The investigation got under way a year ago at the request of then-Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, like Hastert from Illinois, who said investigators should determine ''whether any inappropriate political pressure or intimidation has been or is being applied to Mr. Roseboro to change his vote.''
The board, on June 17, 2004, turned down United's request for loan guarantees worth $1.6 billion (euro1.3 billion). Roseboro and Federal Reserve Board member Edward Gramlich voted to deny the request. Transportation Undersecretary Jeffrey Shane voted to defer the decision for one week.
United then submitted an amended request for a reduced $1.1 billion (euro890 million) loan guarantee. That application was denied by a 3-0 vote on June 28 of last year.
Congress created the board to oversee a $10 billion (euro8.1 billion) loan program that was part of a government subsidy to get the airline industry back on its feet after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Treasury report said Snow's chief of staff and Treasury's general counsel had discussions with Roseboro and urged him either to reverse the initial board rejection or move to reconsider the vote.
Roseboro told investigators he felt compelled to agree to a reconsideration.
The report said Roseboro also told investigators that at no point did he receive pressure or threats from either inside the department or outside to vote a particular way. He said Snow told him to ''vote his conscience.''
Snow said that he had made no promises or assurances in his discussions with Hastert on the United loan of how the government might act.
Roseboro resigned his Treasury position last December.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
