Cheney lying about Haliburton Involvement&House GOP Block-sospec prosecutr

[papau]

is needed -Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has demanded the appointment of a special counsel to independently investigate the situation give the House blocking testimony by Haliburton employees.

THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40364 >

REPORT: CHENEY LYING ABOUT HALLIBURTON INVOLVEMENT

Vice President Dick Cheney has repeatedly assured Americans that he has
positively no involvement in directing billions of taxpayer dollars in
no-bid contracts to Halliburton, his former employer. In September of 2003,
he told NBC's Meet the Press that his office has "absolutely no influence
of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts."<1>
In January of 2004, he told Fox News Radio, "I don't have anything to do
with the contracting process,<2> and I wouldn't know how to manipulate the
process if I wanted to." But, according to new evidence, Cheney's office
"coordinated"<3> the Halliburton contracts and had the Pentagon specifically
seek its input in constructing what ultimately became a multi-billion-dollar
contract.

According to the New York Times, the Pentagon discussed a $1.9 million
planning contract with "senior Bush administration officials, including the
Vice President's Chief of Staff"<4> before inking the deal. According to the
Los Angeles Times, three companies were vying for the lucrative contract
which was seen as the precursor to a much larger, $7 billion contract. But
instead of following the normal competitive civil service contracting
process, the Times reports that Bush administration political appointees
overruled the advice of Army lawyers and simply gave Halliburton the
contract.<5> That decision was then brought to Cheney's Chief of Staff Lewis
"Scooter" Libby, who reviewed the contract and raised no objections to the
non-competitive process.

Cheney has denied having any financial stake in Halliburton receiving
massive government contracts, claiming, "I severed my ties nearly four years
ago when I ran for Vice President."<6> But Cheney still receives about
$150,000 a year in deferred compensation from Halliburton<7> and still owns
about 433,000 company stock options<8>; options which could become more
valuable as the company's revenues rise. That fact was enough to lead the
nonpartisan Congressional Research Service to bill Cheney's continued
financial ties a "potential conflict of interest."<9>

And yet despite all these questions, the Bush administration's allies today
formally blocked any testimony from Halliburton employees about the
matter.<10> Specifically, when Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) presented a
slate of witnesses to the House Government Reform Committee, they were
prevented from appearing by Republicans. That move led Senator Frank
Lautenberg (D-NJ) to demand the appointment of a special counsel to
independently investigate the situation.<11>

Sources:

1. "Cheney denies role in Iraq deal", The Boston Globe, 9/15/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40365.
2. "Cheney faults 'desperate' attacks on Halliburton", CNN.com, 1/23/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40366.
3. "Cheney Coordinated Halliburton Iraq Contract: Report", Common Dreams
News Center, 5/31/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40367.
4. "White House Officials and Cheney Aide Approved Halliburton Contract in
Iraq, Pentagon Says", The New York Times, 6/14/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40368.
5. "Appointee's Role in Halliburton Pact Told", Los Angeles Times,
6/14/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40369.
6. "VP Interview with Wolf Blitzer, CNN", WhiteHouse.gov, 3/2/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40370.
7. "Contract Sport", The New Yorker, 2/9/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40371.
8. "Halliburton asks employees to help defend company", CNN.com, 10/25/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40372.
9. "Cheney may still have Halliburton ties", CNNmoney.com, 9/25/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40373.
10. "Whistle-blowers say Halliburton rife with waste", Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, 6/15/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40374.
11. "Senator Seeks Halliburton Special Counsel", Reuters, 6/14/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=40375.

[killbotfactory]

1. Cheney? Lie?

That's unpossible!

[Catfight]

2. This is outrageous? Credibility and integrity in our WH? I think NOT!

Throw these crooks OUT of my country!

[Tellurian]

3. I hope someone is digging into the legal archives to find a remedy for

this impasse. This must have happened before in the past 300 yrs.
If not, someone will have to create a remedy.

[Just Me]

6. The betrayal and breach of an oath,...is really all it takes,...

,...in my humble view.

[Tellurian]

10. Uh, I meant a remedy to either force or bypass the House to Impeach...

Hi, JM...thats what I was thinking of..

according to the Rules *only* the House has the power to begin Impeachment proceedings. The US must have been in this position before at some other time. Constitutional Scholars should know the answer, if one exists.

[0007]

4. What is it gonna take to get this lying sneaky thieving prick

out of our White House?

[DeadHead67]

5. HELLO ! What do you think Iraq is all about ?

I think it's more about HUGE contracts for Brown&Root, Halliburton, and God knows who else, than even oil reserves.

[lark]

7. Profits

Profits for the mega-corps = more money for them to stay in power longer to make more money. It's a nice circle. Of course, destroying Iraq oil fields drives up the price of oil - and coincidentally oil companies profits are sky high right now. Of course, getting to be the "war president" is part of the calculation.

lark

[ewagner]

8. Cheney doesn't leave fingerprints

Sorry to say this but I believe Cheney and Scooter went through great lengths to either cover Cheney's involvement with the contracting process, or to insulate him from Scooter's decision so there would be "no fingerprints". If Scooter says he approved the contracts alone, and it cannot be legally proven that either he or Cheney are lying, then case closed. Scooter has no conflict of interest.

There's guys are world class at covering their respective asses and I would be surprised if they slipped up here.

[young_at_heart]

9. Agreed!

[Tellurian]

11. If given a choice, would Scooter *hang* for Cheney if asked to?

or would he turn?