If there must be a trial to address criminal charges against 2002 Winter Games bid leaders Tom Welch and Dave Johnson, justice demands that the court have the benefit of all evidence in the case.
The arrest of John Kim, the son of a powerful International Olympic Committee member from South Korea, should shed more light on the bid scandal that led to the recently reinstated charges against Welch and Johnson. The former bid leaders are scheduled to stand trial on charges of conspiracy, fraud and racketeering beginning Oct. 28.
It remains to be seen if Kim, who was arrested in Bulgaria last week, will stand trial on the charges against him or if he's needed as a witness in the Welch-Johnson trial. Kim was indicted over what the government labeled a "sham job" created by Utah businessman David Simmons and funded by the Salt Lake Bid Committee. Simmons pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tax violation and agreed to cooperate in the case.
Another school of thought is that federal prosecutors may be trying to force Kim's father, Un Yong Kim, to take the stand. Un Yong Kim is a political leader in South Korea. The elder Kim was sanctioned by his fellow IOC members for his role in the scandal, during which cash and gifts totaling more than $1 million were reportedly handed out by Salt Lake bidders trying to curry favor with IOC members who would vote whether to award the 2002 Winter Games to Salt Lake City.
Of course, Salt Lake was successful in its bid and hosted fabulous Games considering it was the first mass international event after the Sept. 11 attacks on America and organizers' inital efforts to secure corporate sponsors had been hampered by the bid scandal. The Games went on to make a considerable profit under the leadership of Mitt Romney and Fraser Bullock.
The success of the 2002 Winter Games and the IOC's own efforts to reform itself have helped restore dignity to the Olympic movement. But many questions remain.
Hopefully, John Kim can be extradited to America to answer to the charges pending against him (for allegedly lying to federal investigators and using a fraudulently obtained green card to enter the United States), and in the process, aid in the swift and just culmination of the Welch-Johnson trial.