Thursday, June 10, 2004
Coordinated Influence
Time Magazine has obtained an internal Pentagon e-mail sent by an Army Corps of Engineers official that raises serious questions about Vice President Cheney's dealings with his former employer Halliburton, specifically how Cheney may have influenced Halliburton's ability to secure lucrative no-bid contracts in the run-up to the Iraq invasion.
The Time article recounts an episode of NBC's Meet the Press last September on which Cheney made an appearance and the topic of Halliburton's now infamous no-bid contracts was discussed. Host Tim Russert asked Cheney, "Were you involved in any way in the awarding of those contracts?" Cheney's reply: "Of course not, Tim ... And as Vice President, I have absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts led by the [Army] Corps of Engineers or anybody else in the Federal Government."
This claim by Cheney seems to be called into question by the internal Pentagon e-mail dated March 5, 2003, which indicates that Cheney's office "coordinated" efforts to grant Halliburton lucrative oil restoration contracts without soliciting competitive bids.
"The e-mail says 'action' on a multibillion-dollar Halliburton contract was 'coordinated' with Cheney's office. The e-mail says Douglas Feith, a high-ranking Pentagon hawk, got the 'authority to execute RIO,' or Restore Iraqi Oil, from his boss, who is Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. RIO is one of several large contracts the U.S. awarded to Halliburton last year.
The e-mail says Feith approved arrangements for the contract 'contingent on informing WH [White House] tomorrow. We anticipate no issues since action has been coordinated w VP's [Vice President's] office.' Three days later, the Army Corps of Engineers gave Halliburton the contract, without seeking other bids.
How can Cheney justify the statement that he had "absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts led by the [Army] Corps of Engineers or anybody else in the Federal Government" when the e-mail indicates that the efforts were "coordinated" with his office? The evidence contained in the e-mail, at the very least, amounts to "knowledge" and "involvement" with the contracts on Cheney's behalf. Is "influence" really that far behind?
The Time article recounts an episode of NBC's Meet the Press last September on which Cheney made an appearance and the topic of Halliburton's now infamous no-bid contracts was discussed. Host Tim Russert asked Cheney, "Were you involved in any way in the awarding of those contracts?" Cheney's reply: "Of course not, Tim ... And as Vice President, I have absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts led by the [Army] Corps of Engineers or anybody else in the Federal Government."
This claim by Cheney seems to be called into question by the internal Pentagon e-mail dated March 5, 2003, which indicates that Cheney's office "coordinated" efforts to grant Halliburton lucrative oil restoration contracts without soliciting competitive bids.
"The e-mail says 'action' on a multibillion-dollar Halliburton contract was 'coordinated' with Cheney's office. The e-mail says Douglas Feith, a high-ranking Pentagon hawk, got the 'authority to execute RIO,' or Restore Iraqi Oil, from his boss, who is Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. RIO is one of several large contracts the U.S. awarded to Halliburton last year.
The e-mail says Feith approved arrangements for the contract 'contingent on informing WH [White House] tomorrow. We anticipate no issues since action has been coordinated w VP's [Vice President's] office.' Three days later, the Army Corps of Engineers gave Halliburton the contract, without seeking other bids.
How can Cheney justify the statement that he had "absolutely no influence of, involvement of, knowledge of in any way, shape or form of contracts led by the [Army] Corps of Engineers or anybody else in the Federal Government" when the e-mail indicates that the efforts were "coordinated" with his office? The evidence contained in the e-mail, at the very least, amounts to "knowledge" and "involvement" with the contracts on Cheney's behalf. Is "influence" really that far behind?
