Pryor, Pryor, Pants on Fire

In his testimony before the committee on June 11 and in written answers to later questions, Mr. Pryor said he saw nothing wrong in raising money for a Republican attorneys general group. He also said he was unaware that any of the companies he solicited did business in Alabama and would therefore come under his jurisdiction as the state's chief law enforcement official.

But the documents cited by Democrats on the panel appear to show that Mr. Pryor had solicited donations from several companies that do business in Alabama, including the International Paper Corporation and the United States Steel Corporation.

Mr. Pryor also said he was unaware that any tobacco companies had been solicited by the Republican attorneys general group. The documents suggest that Philip Morris U.S.A. and the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation donated heavily. One document listed Mr. Pryor as the person assigned to call a lobbyist for Philip Morris who had committed to donating $25,000. The documents also suggest that Mr. Pryor was assigned to call a lobbyist for Brown & Williamson, which donated $25,000 to the association. -- New York Times, July 18, 2003