July 14, 2000
Utahns are sharply divided over whether two former top Olympic bid promoters should accept a deal in the Salt Lake Olympic bribery case.
That's according to an exclusive Eyewitness News Viewer Voice poll.
Should Welch & Johnson Accept A Deal?
| Accept a Deal |
47% |
| Demand a Trial |
41% |
| Not sure |
13% |
In a Survey USA poll, we asked 500 Utahns if Welch and Johnson should accept the deal, or demand a trial?
When you factor in those who say they aren't sure, then it seems Utahns are pretty equally divided.
Better for the state?
| Accept a Deal |
56% |
| Demand a Trial |
35% |
| Not sure |
9% |
We also asked--is it better for the state of Utah if the two men accept the deal, or demand a trial?
Most say accept the deal.
Meantime, many are watching the situation closely, waiting for the next development.
News Specialist John Daley has more.
If you think the pressure is intense at the Olympics, consider the potential trial of two former top Olympic leaders.
Tom Welch and Dave Johnson are weighing their options--take a deal from the Justice Department, or take their chances in court.
The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he'd like to see the case concluded soon.
Sen. Orrin Hatch/(R) Utah: "WELL, I HOPE THEY CAN RESOLVE IT. I JUST HOPE IT CAN BE RESOLVED BECAUSE NOBODY BENEFITS BY TRIAL, IN MY OPINION. I DON'T THINK ANYBODY BENEFITS BY INDICTMENTS."
Hatch tells the Deseret News: Welch and Johnson "are good guys and they did everything they could to get the Olympics."
He says federal prosecutors "ought to really think it through before they indict anybody because this is the way apparently Olympic business was done for decades."
But Welch and Johnson may not want to be tagged with the label of official architects of the 2002 Olympic Bribery Scandal.
A longtime friend of Welch tells KSL Welch is getting indirect pressure from Olympic organizers to accept a deal, but she says that's unlikely.
Sydney Fonnesbeck/Friend of Welch: "I CAN'T IMAGINE TOM WILL EVER AGREE TO SIGN ANYTHING THAT SAYS HE WAS PART OF A CONSPIRACY WITH CRIMINAL INTENT. HE DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT WAS THE CASE AND NEITHER DO MOST OF THE REST OF US."
Meantime, after training at Snowbasin's downhill run, Olympic champion and Organizing Committee board member Picabo Street says Utah was just doing what it had to do to win.
Picabo Street/Olympic Champion: "I THINK SALT LAKE MAY HAVE CHEATED TO GET THE OLYMPICS BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD TO. BUT I'M GOING TO BE VERY BOLD JUST TO SAY THAT IF WE HADN'T CHEATED WE WOULD HAVE WON IT ANYWAY. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT EVERYBODY'S KICKING THEMSELVES IN THE BUTT ABOUT--IS WE DIDN'T NEED TO CHEAT TO WIN. WE HAD IT IN THE BAG, BUT EVERYONE ELSE WAS PLAYING THE GAME THAT WAY SO WE FELT LIKE NO WAY WERE WE GOING TO LOSE OUT AND NOT PLAY THE GAME."
If no deal is reached, it's expected to take another year until any trial would start.
In that case, an Olympic bribery trial with top Utah and Olympic leaders testifying could unfold late in the year 2001.
