Pentagon Opens Halliburton Criminal Probe
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=4420110
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Monday it opened a criminal investigation of fraud allegations against a unit of Vice President Dick Cheney's old company Halliburton Co. (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , including possible overpricing of fuel delivered to Iraq.
The investigation was focused on Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root, the U.S. military's biggest contractor in Iraq, which has become a lightning rod of Democratic criticism during this presidential election year.
"The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the criminal investigative arm of the Inspector General's office is investigating allegations on the part of KBR of fraud, including the potential overpricing of fuel delivered to Baghdad by a KBR subcontractor," said a Pentagon spokeswoman.
cont...
And the hits keep coming. Bush is going to complain about special interests? We're getting mugged by Cheney's old company. Which was given no bid contracts. Cheney IS a special interest. It'll be interesting to see who finally gets charged in the Plame case. Word is that it may be someone from Cheney's staff.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Monday it opened a criminal investigation of fraud allegations against a unit of Vice President Dick Cheney's old company Halliburton Co. (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , including possible overpricing of fuel delivered to Iraq.
The investigation was focused on Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root, the U.S. military's biggest contractor in Iraq, which has become a lightning rod of Democratic criticism during this presidential election year.
"The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the criminal investigative arm of the Inspector General's office is investigating allegations on the part of KBR of fraud, including the potential overpricing of fuel delivered to Baghdad by a KBR subcontractor," said a Pentagon spokeswoman.
cont...
And the hits keep coming. Bush is going to complain about special interests? We're getting mugged by Cheney's old company. Which was given no bid contracts. Cheney IS a special interest. It'll be interesting to see who finally gets charged in the Plame case. Word is that it may be someone from Cheney's staff.
Comments
From 9/15/2003
Joe Conason's Journal
Former Whitewater crank L. Jean Lewis will soon be in charge of preventing Pentagon corruption, and Democrats should be raising hell.
Sept. 15, 2003 _|_ The Bush administration's funny new watchdog Whenever the comeback kid shows up, his enraged pursuers are always close behind. The latest to resurface is L. Jean Lewis, the Whitewater crank who made big national headlines once upon a time. Amazingly, she has been appointed to an important executive position in the Defense Department.
(snip)
But Lewis is very special. Anyone who remembers the dramatic performances she gave before the House and Senate committees probing Whitewater will have to wonder how anyone in Washington would dare offer her a responsible position. As Gene Lyons and I reported in "The Hunting of the President", Lewis proved repeatedly that her relationship with the truth was rather distant, even while under oath -- and she was deeply partisan and incompetent as well. (For those without quick reference to "Hunting" p. 194-98, see this excellent post by Orcinus with a link to Atrios, as well as the Horse.)
The scoop on her new job appears in Newsweek, somewhat ironically under the byline of Michael Isikoff. According to the indefatigable Isikoff, Lewis will join the Pentagon inspector general's office as chief of staff at a salary of $118,000. She told him that top Defense officials interviewed her about her qualifications. That's right: A normally nonpartisan, exceptionally important agency is being turned over to this peculiar lady, who used to peddle "Presidential BITCH" memorabilia, betokening her hatred of Hillary Clinton, from a clerk's desk at the Resolution Trust Corporation in Kansas City. Obviously, she was executive material.
As much of the ugly evidence as can be buried WILL be buried. Just as an aside, HalliBurton probably are the most capable company for doing the job. It's keeping them (top officials) honest that will be a job. Also, because they are a private company, they don't have to worry about being as "transparent" as for example, The US Army Corp of Engineers. Ahh, but now we see where our Gov is steering things. By taking more and more work away from the USACE, less and less project information is easily obtainable by the public as it requires the courts to see what the private sectors are up to.
Huh, I guess them them old boys is smarter than I gave them credit for...