WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary-designate John W. Snow publicly disclosed Tuesday that he was arrested for drunken driving in Utah in 1982, a revelation that may complicate his confirmation.
Snow said in written responses to a questionnaire by the Senate Finance Committee, in preparation for his Jan. 28 confirmation hearing, that he was arrested on a driving-under-the-influence charge in West Valley City in 1982, along with a charge of making an improper left turn.
He said the DUI charge was later dismissed.
In the questionnaire, which was posted on the Internet by the Finance Committee, Snow wrote, "In 1982, I was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in West Valley City, Salt Lake County, Utah.
"I was never convicted of that charge, and the prosecuting attorney voluntarily dismissed the charge before trial."
He added, "In connection with this incident, I paid a $334 fine for making an unauthorized left turn with my automobile. I have never been charged with or convicted of any other offense."
A West Valley police spokesman could not verify those charges, saying they would have been filed in the old city justice court and all records prior to 1986 no longer exist.
White House spokesmen said the charges were old and have no real bearing on Snow's confirmation now. President Bush has disclosed that he himself was once arrested for DUI, too.
The White House said Snow advised it of the DUI case before his nomination Dec. 9. However, Snow did not advise it in advance of another problem he revealed through the questionnaire: His ex-wife once sued him for failing to pay child support.
The questionnaire said she sued him in Maryland in 1988 for failing to pay child support for two of his sons. It said Snow denied the allegations in court and said she "was no longer entitled to child support because neither child continued to reside with her."
The questionnaire said the court dismissed the claims except for his ex-wife's allegation that he owed 19 months of child support as well as transportation and allowance costs while one son was at college.
The questionnaire said, "In order to spare the family the difficulty of a trial, the parties settled the remaining issues in dispute."
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is a senior member of the Finance Committee and among Republicans who have supported Snow's nomination. Hatch spokesman Adam Elggren said Hatch's office thought Snow's DUI arrest would probably not affect his nomination because it was minor and occurred long ago.
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