The Nation : Ties to Presser Defended

Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III and Secretary of the Treasury James A. Baker III said there was nothing improper in the Administration’s political ties to the Teamsters Union and its president, Jackie Presser. The links were assailed Tuesday by a presidential commission as impeding the battle against organized crime. “I think any member of the Administration would not want to do anything which would interfere with, or give any appearance of interfering with the proper enforcement of the laws,” Meese told a news conference. Baker, in an interview, said: “I don’t see why an Administration cannot have an arm’s-length relationship with one of the major labor unions.”