Michael T. Buckley
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This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation. |
Michael T. Buckley a lawyer and tobacco lobbyist at Covington and Burling which was one of the two main legal companies in the USA which provided both legal and lobbying services to the tobacco industry, both through the Tobacco Institute, and directly to the companies themselves. (mainly Philip Morris). One task regularly undertaken by a small group of C&B lawyers was to provide witnesses in various legislative and local ordinance hearings.
Mike Buckley specialised in providing Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) briefings for the Tobacco Institute.
Documents & Dates
- CTR's Covington & Burling lawyer who does ETS briefings for the Tobacco Institute
1991 Jan 4 Industry strategies to defeat the ETS risk assessment
Objectives
- 1. To block the release of, or, short of that, to modify the EPA risk assessment and workplace policy guide to reflect more accurately the scientific consensus on ETS,
- 2. To build a record of the flaws and controversies surrounding the risk assessment and policy guide and the SAB review of those documents for use in legislative and regulatory battles on ETS .
- [Much more on Strategies] http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/kto24e00/pdf
- Accompanying notice to TI http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/gah46e00/pdf
[Note: Mike Buckley and Claussen Ely were the C&B representatives in this group]
1992 Jun European Bureau for Action on Smoking Prevention (BASP), List of consultants getting the BASP newsletter [1]
1992 Oct 13 Sharon L Boyse (the organiser of BAT's anti-science efforts) to Paul Dietrich (an American who ran numerous scams for the industry):
- "I would like to discuss with you Mike Buckley's approach to you about the Venezuela conference."
[Document now not found]
1993 Jan 21 Buckley is in San Diego, CA doing some 'editorial board' meetings. He is also meetings with and organising key tobacco allies, and testifying himself before the City Council's Ad Hoc citizens study committee on smoking regulations. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/otz92b00/pdf
1993 Jan 25The tobacco industry is attacking the credibility of the World Health Organisation, which has recently condemned smoking as a health hazard. The specialist anti-WHO lobbyist Paul Dietrich (at Squire Sanders & Dempsey) has writen to Sharon L Boyse at BAT. Dietrich and his partner David A Morse have created a fake organisation known as the Institute for International Health and Development (IIHD) which questions WHO's effectiveness and attacks their budgets. Dietrich, claiming to be an independent lawyer, has been promoted now as the authority on the WHO.
- The New York Times has been given his name as a source when other journalists have called asking to do a story on the WHO
- He has been interviewed on the subject by The Economist (London), The London Times, the International Herald Tribune, and the Financial Times.
- The leading Italian financial daily, Mono Economico has now asked him to rewrite his May 1992 Wall Street Journal article for them.
- He encloses a magazine cutting attacking the WHO's Japanese director general.
https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=glnm0214
1993 Feb 25 A Tobacco Institute document labelled "'1993 EPA Briefings"' This refers to a concerted attack on the ;;Environment Protection Agency;; by the tobacco companies via briefings to various editorial boards and journalists. It lists the various briefings to editorial boards, meetings with legislators (often one-to-one), organised radio interviews, etc. by:
- TI's spokesperson (usually Tom Lauria) or Walker Merryman;
- a Healthy Buildings International spokesperson (usually Simon Turner or Rich Silberman),
- scientific witnesses: Dr Gio Batta Gori, Walter J Decker
- Covington & Burling lawyers Mike Buckley, David Remes, Clausen Ely, Melinda Sikak
- Sham air-testers Gray Robertson, Peter Binnie, Simon Turner (all HBI); Larry Holcomb; Frank Powell (NEMI)
They are meeting the media, town councils, airport officials, and legislatures in: San Diego, Dallas, Kansas, Lincoln, Salt Lake City, Carson City, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Hilton Head, Sacramento, Denver, St Louis, Minneapolis, Monroe County this month and had scheduled meetings cancelled in Santa Fe, Cheynne, Charleston, Nashville, Minneapolis, Pierre and Madison. https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=pppn0048 Diane Avedon ran this operation out of the Tobacco Institute: Here is her advice to witnesses and early schedule. https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=hglp0059 Diane Avedon's list of witnesses involved in these EPA Briefings https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=mjhd0046
1993 Apr 16 Kay Packett's memo to Mike Buckley and Chris Proctor (both C&B lawyers). She wants them to check a draft manuscript by Larry Holcomb that deals with Carbon dioxide levels (probably in aircraft). He was doing sham air-testing at that time. https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=nhhk0031
1993 Feb 1 Mike Buckley of C&B has been doing briefings in the mid-west States for the Tobacco Institute. He mentioned John Mangum and Rip Wilson of Philip Morris USA in relationship to Arizona Legislative Council. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/jgf50c00/pdf
1993 Jun 1 1988 to 1993 Diana L Avedon at the Tobacco Institute ran a major media-tour operation called the Scientific Witness Teams. This operation circulated variable teams of TI staff spokespersons, contracted sham air-testing company staff, one or more Covington & Burling lawyers, and other more specialied tobacco lobbyists. They were used in two ways:
- As fire-fighters, to turn up in some town or region when problem about public or workplace smoking was arising, and do media interviews.
- To make regular media tours through various parts of the country to promote Tobacco Institute propaganda.
They were paid to visit major cities in each state, where the Regional Tobacco Institute staff would have arranged radio, TV or news coverage, and set up meetings with key officials at the local councils, counter air-ports (smoking bans) and meet with the editorial boards of media outlets. This is Diana Avedon's list of the key contractors on these group media-tours. It had the advantage of each participant getting to know the others, which introduced a collegial element to their shared message distortions.
| 1993 Jun 1 TI list of "Witness/Expert Appearances Scientific/Legal/Spokespersons." | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Lauria Assistant to the Tobacco Institute President, | Mike Buckley lawyer-lobbyist with Covington & Burling, | Simon Turner IAQ witness/executive of ACVA/HBI, |
| Gio Batta Gori Corrupt science researcher at Nat. Cancer Institute He ran the Tobacco Working Group for the industry until fired. | Bill Wordham Tobacco Institute's Media spokesperson | Gray Robertson Partner in ACVA then owner of HBI Lifelong contractor for sham air-testing with TI |
| Peter Binnie owner/partner of ACVA and HBI He sold his share of HBI to Gray Robertson | Larry Holcomb Ran sham air-testing company (airlines) Holcomb Environmental Services | John C Fox Lawyer lobbyist for TI via Pettit & Martin Later also through Pillsbury Madison & Sutro |
| Richard Silberman Healthy Buildings International (HBI) spokesman on 'sick buildings' | Walter Merryman TI Public Relations, then Issues Management Later VP at the Tobacco Institute. | David Remes legal strategist from the main law firm Covington & Burling (C&B) |
| Frank Powell National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) organiser who worked for TI | Melinda L Sidak C&B lawyer; strategist in science corruption Worked on recruitment of scientists. | Rudy Cole He ran restaurant front-group RSVP He organised lobby against smoking bans. |
| Larry Halfen Environmental Consultants; TI witness | ||
| An attached 1991 Witness List includes | ||
| Brennan Dawson Media relations at the Tobacco Institute | Jeff Seckler Exec. in charge of HBI's sham air testing He later turned whistleblower. | Jim Goold Lawyer sent on media tours by the Tobacco institute to train witnesses. |
| Joe Pedelty worked for Holcomb Environmental Services Did sham air-testing for TI | Jolly Ann Davidson NASBE school/educational lobbyist, ran "Helping Youth Decide" program for TI | Dick Wagner GMU economics professor (Tollison aide) Key in cash-for-comments network |
| Bernadette Davidson lawyer and media lobbyist with John Fox She was retained by TI as IAQ witness | Walter J Decker Ran Toxicology Consultancy Services Provide witness services for the TI | |
| Bill Orzechowski TI Director of Economic Issues He was ex-US Chambers of Commerce | Mike Davis (Dallas Texas) Prof of Econ. and Business Management Witness for the Tobacco Institute. | Morris Coats Prof Economics West Virginia. Worked in cash-for-comments net. |
| The main long document has this 1989 witness list attached with the addition (to above) | ||
| Dwight Lee economics professor and leader of cash-for-comments economists network | David A Weeks Boise Idaho physician, TI Witness Partner of S James Kilpatrick in Per-Med Corp. | Alan Kassman Ex tobacco industry scientist. Retrained to provide legislative and media briefings. |
| Robert Tollison GMU professor of economics who ran the cash-for-comments economists network | Richard Wagner Economics professor and TI witness. Tollison's understudy in c-for-c network | Jack E Peterson Industrial hygienist; ran Peterson Assoc. Also worked for Dow Chemicals |
| Bestype Consulting Corporation they ran TI's "Sick Building Syndrome" and "Tight Building Syndrome" seminars. | Dennis A Vaughn Lawyer-lobbyist for Tobacco Institute, Associate of John Fox at P&M and PM & Sutro | |
| The 1988 List includes most of above with the additions of: | ||
| Alan W Katzenstein Biostatistician with Katzenstein Assoc. Witness for Tobacco Institute, | David Brenton Ran the Smokers Rights Alliance His wife Sue had her focus on airline smoking. | |
| http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/otz92b00/pdf | ||
[Numerous other documents detail the day-to-day organization of these groups spread over five or more years.]
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