3 Utahns off Moon hook

WASHINGTON — A top disciple of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon conceded Wednesday that the group did not have clear permission to list three prominent Utahns as helping host a dinner where Moon proclaimed himself the Messiah.

The concession was an about-face from claims made earlier in the day that Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, state Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, and businessman Stephen Covey fibbed in denying they were not host committee members for the March 23 event, where Moon was dressed in a gold crown and royal robes as a king of peace.

When the Utahns cried foul, the Moon officials changed their story.

"Though we did not intend to misuse the names of any of our friends, we did not communicate properly," the Rev. Michael Jenkins, president of Moon's Family Federation for World Peace and Unification USA, said in a written statement.

Earlier in the day Moon allies called a National Press Club press conference to address what they said were press distortions of the event. Jenkins said that the Utahns initially gave permission for use of their names but then later denied it to the press amid mounting political pressure.

"They had been actually co-sponsors of many events. And as far as we understood, we had the full support to go forward with this event. We honor them and thank them for their support, but we also believe that the heat got too hot," Jenkins said.

Archbishop George Augustus Stallings Jr., founder of the Imani Temple African-American Catholic Church and co-chair with Jenkins of a Moon peace group that sponsored the dinner, also said at the press conference that dinner sponsors contacted everyone listed in its program and obtained permission to use their names.

"That's not accurate," said Meghan Riding, press secretary for Cannon.

"Somebody did call and talk to our scheduler (about being a dinner sponsor). She said she did not have the authority to allow that to happen, and said, 'We'll have to get back to you.' They took that as a yes, but clearly it was not. A yes was never given," Riding said.

Also contrary to Jenkins' assertion, she said Cannon never sponsored or gave permission for use of his name for any Moon-related event. She said he did attend a February dinner where Stephenson was given an award. "He attended it, but that does not mean he was a co-sponsor," she said.

Likewise, Stephenson and Covey spokeswoman Debra Lund said those two never gave permission for use of their names as host committee members for the March 23 event.