Texas m m 1 • The Battalion .82 Mo.l 16 GSPS 045360 12 pages College Station, Texas Wednesday, March 11,1987 The to raise c indictme: indictme; traent r ded the. j laying tk; | aiiissedl) ih a crit type Jit anducte ient sen sat 1(AP)- is erne ran-ton';, r Contra d ■e orgad er Carl] ginalsod s indiu'-| 182 ms eatment ral woum lied Cott y were ticer Mas accordirr 1 by I# ormer politka!’ id the ;e forte relatic® Interri; niatioi: n are aa e inde| igressiora| i the L'i e aliegeil Contras, evenue Chai lements ‘sorry’ or his actions lin SMU scandal AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Bill Clem ents, saying Southern Methodist University is wracked by agony over pay-for-players football scandal, apologized Tuesday for his role in Continuing the payments. “To those rightfully upset and an- ry about the decision, 1 am truly Sorry,” Clements said. “We made a (mistake at SMU. I made a mistake at SMU." Clements, a former SMU student [and twice chairman of the school’s board of governors, made his com- pnents at a news conference. He renewed his call for other school officials involved to come for- (ward and promised to cooperate red it rating [lowered on exas’ bonds AUSTIN (AP) — Moody’s Inves- r Service lowered its credit rating pn Texas’ general obligation bonds "rom Aaa to Aa, the first time it has alien below the top rating in a quar- :er-century, the company said Tues day. Moody’s cited the state’s troubled conomy for its action. “The strongest and singlemost actor is the economic shock that’s happened to Texas over the last year and the magnitude of the finan- ;ial problems,” said Claire Cohen, an nalyst with Moody’s. The oil-price drop since Novem ber 1985 has created state govern- tent budget deficits and sent the exas jobless rate soaring. Cohen aid Moody’s believes the state is in bra long-range shakenp. “The economy seems to us to be [making a fundamental change in “’exas and seems likely to have an ef- :t for a long time,” she said. State Comptroller Bob Bullock said a reduction in bond ratings can ause borrowing costs on newly is- debt to rise one-half to one per- jcentage point a year. Moody’s said Texas has enjoyed a Aaa bond rating since 1962. The Aa rating is in the firm’s second-highest category, and only 11 states cur- , „_rentTy have been assigned the Aaa ICtllH Jrating, she said. The Aaa rating is followed by Aa- 1, Aa, A-l, A, Baa-1, Baa, Ba-1, Ba, B-l, B, Caa, Ca and C, the firm said. Bullock spokesman Tony Profitt said the state’s rating remains solid: “Aa is still high-quality bonds. There’s no question about that.” pment Kume® wrtin uotedi lannells from Audits ll 01 all the rmestio govern' ice, said een loo d the da t to auilt still n® I. Vail ived and ■ered. lan fot i line l iced a pi ight, to | nbyfl Britisk d a pand had kft riesli ►iegof .s obtain its whs with a Methodist Church investiga tion of the affair. Last week, Clements touched off a wave of new investigations at SMU by saying he and some other school governors and administrators knew in 1984 or 1985 of booster payments to football players. He said they de cided to continue some payments while trying to “phase out” that sys tem. Payments eventually were re duced from 26 players to three, he said. The NCAA has banned SMU from playing football this year and limited its 1988 season to seven road games for rules violations which oc curred while the school already was on a probation handed down in Au gust 1985. Clements said Tuesday that continuing the payments was a mis take and that the school has suffered a tragedy because of it. “The decision to phase out the system of payments to SMU players was wrong,” he said. “In hindsight, it is clear we were wrong. SMU is the victim of a system we should have stopped immediately. “It is a tragedy what has hap pened. ... SMU is a great institution, and I am distressed that it is going through such agony.” Clements again refused a request from the current SMU Board of Governors to “name names” of oth ers involved in the continued pay ment decision. But he predicted those people eventually will speak up, even though some board mem- bers have disputed his allegations. “These are people that occupy those positions on the board and have for some time,” Clements said. “They are really part of the problem at this point and not part of the solu tion. They’re going to have to make this decision for themselves. I think that in due course they will.” The governor noted that one other SMU board member, Dallas banker Robert H. Stewart III, had confirmed his story. Clements said he never made a payment himself or raised money for such payments. He voiced support for a bill now in the Legislature that would penal ize college boosters for making such payments, and he called on the NCAA to strip athletic elgibility from players who violate the rules. Clements said he brought the af fair to light last week because he be lieved it was necessary to get SMU moving in the right direction. “It is critical . . . that the truth pre vail,” he said. “Once all the facts are out, SMU then will move forward.” In Control Dr. Robert Tribble, head of the A&M physics department, sits at a control board while working on an experiment at the Cyclotron Insti- Photo by Tracy Staton tute. The control board for the cyclotron fills a room at the institute, which is located at the corner of Spence Street and University Drive. Official: Don’t grant immunity in Iran affair yet WASHINGTON (AP) — Law rence E. Walsh, the independent counsel investigating the Iran-Con tra affair, asked Congress on Tues day to wait at least 90 days before granting limited immunity to key witnesses. He vowed to challenge in court any attempt to act sooner. “The danger is substantial,” Walsh said, that his probe would be compromised by any effort to move quickly to grant immunity to former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter or his fired aide, Lt. Col. Oliver North. Key lawmakers in the House and Senate have said in recent days they hoped to move quickly to grant lim ited immunity from prosecution to Poindexter and North. But Walsh said if Congress moves before 90 days, “we would then have to do whatever we could to get our selves as much time as possible to perfect our case” against anyone who might be indicted. Walsh said he would deliver a sim ilar message when he met with the Senate investigating committee Wednesday. Under federal law, Walsh would be able to delay a grant of immunity for roughly 30 days. Any court chal lenge by him would create a conflict with congressional investigators that both sides have sought to avoid. Earlier Tuesday, Senate commit tee chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Ha- waii, said the panel should not wait until July to arrange immunity to force testimony by North and Poin dexter and perhaps others. “If you want the full story, there’s no question” that immunity will have to be granted to key figures, he said. Leaders of the House panel were also meeting Tuesday with their Senate counterparts, in part to deal with disagreements over when to bring up the immunity issue for the investigation’s central figures. Walsh said his request for a delay covered any grant of immunity to re tired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard Secord, who, according to investiga tors played a arms sale. key role in the Iran The independent counsel said that he was not sure all loose ends in the investigation could be tied up in 90 days but that the time period rep resented “a fair balance” between his need to develop evidence and the need of Congress and the public to resolve unanswered questions. Walsh said he also had discussed with congressional investigators the possibility of granting immunity to other, lower-level witnesses, but that no names had been cleared so far be yond an initial list of three, including North’s secretary, Fawn Hall. MSC Council asks for aid in acquiring computer system Lichard •y was of theft 55, I-ioloiH' 1 J of kfc , 74, ini r’s Chin 1 y und f 1 ones f -eau»i l riest ® - whet