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Vice President Deceived Public
On Halliburton Contracts
June 15, 2004
Vice President Dick Cheney
stated unequivocally last September that he had no connection to the multi-billion dollar no-bid contracts granted to Halliburton.
"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," Cheney stated on national television. As with many things uttered
by the vice president, this simply is not true.
- The vice president's office
was briefed well in advance of two no-bid contracts awarded to Halliburton. A letter from Rep. Henry Waxman to the vice president reveals that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby,
the vice president's chief of staff, received a Pentagon briefing in October 2002, one month prior to directing Halliburton
to develop a secret plan for restoring and operating Iraq's oil infrastructure. The vice president's office was also
made aware of a second sole-source contract worth up to $7 billion awarded to Halliburton four months later for implementing
this plan.
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- Cheney lied to the American
public about his involvement with secretive Halliburton contracts. The repeated assertion by Cheney that he was not informed about these contracts does not hold
up to basic scrutiny. The staff briefings uncovered by Waxman clearly show direct and early involvement of the vice president's
office in the vetting and awarding of no-bid contracts for Halliburton. And earlier this month Time Magazine unearthed
an e-mail which indicates that the $7 billion contract awarded to Halliburton on was "coordinated" with Cheney's office.
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- The Bush administration
must come clean about any remaining contacts or involvement with Halliburton. The administration's claim that no political appointees were involved in the awarding
of contracts to Halliburton does not pass muster given this new evidence. The public has a right to know the full extent of
the vice president's contacts and arrangements with the Pentagon on any matters dealing with Halliburton contracts.
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