BREAKING: FBI Investigating Halliburton Contracts

[TheWebHead]

just on CNBC!

update link:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=3&u=/ap/20041028/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/halliburton_contracts

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Uh boy.

Shit, meet fan. Again.

[Hobarticus]

2. STFU!!! Don't tease us like that!!!

Are you serious? inquiring minds want to know!

[TheWebHead]

11. yeah

Tyler Mathison basically said the headline saying this just in and moved on... Not sure of the context and don't see it on yahoo or google yet.

[kostya]

78. Less important story than the Al-Qaqaa explosives though.

Hope it doesn't push the explosives issue aside. The mainstream doesn't seem to be picking up on the KSTP story and there's damn little time left! - K

[vet_against_Bush]

3. Wow! Could they screw up any more? nt

[Kadie]

9. When it rains it pours. n/t

[AlCzervik]

4. holy shyte!

[pk_du]

45. Didnt you mean : Holy Shi-ite ;O) eom

[Kadie]

5. Man, they are getting hit right and left today.

Wow, what a day.

[AlCzervik]

13. silly me, i thought it was just the CIA

that wanted him out.

[RadiDem]

6. THE NUCLEAR OCTOBER SURPRISE !!!! YEAH !

AWOL is toast

[Moderator]

7. Please provide a link as soon as possible

Thank you

[maddezmom]

8. GO BUNNY GO!!!

[maddezmom]

16. link here:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041028/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/halliburton_contracts_1

[Eloriel]

88. Don't forget to vote it up!!! n/t

[Mojambo]

10. It's about FUCKING TIME. n/t

[mistertrickster]

66. Yeah, did you notice how the FBI only took action AFTER the whistleblower

went public?

60 Minutes did a piece on this about two years ago. Grace Co. said they could do what Hellsbells-ton was doing for 1/4th cost.

[Sannum]

12. The house of cards is falling

Maybe we can bake them a cake with a file in it.

[onehandle]

14. Link here.......

FBI Investigating Halliburton Contracts

WASHINGTON - The FBI has begun investigating whether the Pentagon improperly awarded no-bid contracts to Halliburton Co., seeking an interview with a top Army contracting officer and collecting documents from several government offices.

The line of inquiry expands an earlier FBI investigation into whether Halliburton overcharged taxpayers for fuel in Iraq, and it elevates to a criminal matter the election-year question of whether the Bush administration showed favoritism to Vice President Dick Cheney's former company.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=3&u=/ap/20041028/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/halliburton_contracts

[NNN0LHI]

15. Faster pussycat, faster n/t

[jayfish]

17. Link Here.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041028/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/halliburton_contracts

Jay

[faithnotgreed]

18. hmmm.. now why would the fbi want to expose bush & cheney?

heheheeeee

i just have no idea why anyone would want to take them down. democracy anyone?

[mark11727]

79. Mebbe the FBI and CIA hate 'Murca...? :o)

...after all, to be agin * is to be agin Murca... </freep>

[progressiveBadger]

Impeachable offense?

Could we get rid of them before January???

[Moderator]

19. Now you need to edit you headline

to read: FBI Investigating Halliburton Contracts

( no mention of WHite House)

[MidwestTransplant]

22. No shit.

[TheWebHead]

34. hmmm..

done... but CNBC did mention White House in the headline...

[steve2470]

20. time to party ! the gates of Repug hell have opened ! nt

[Beetwasher]

21. Blow After Blow After Blow After Blow After Blow

Wow! I'm just friggin' amazed. I was expecting Oct. surprises, but WOW!

[AspenRose]

28. I love the picture! ROFLOL!

What a day, what a day.

[maddezmom]

23. how many topics can the front page hold???? another nomination!!!!

[steve2470]

24. If I didn't know any better, I would think the Dems planned all

these bombshells. It seems like every 30 minutes today, there is something else.

[MADem]

36. Either that, or the lame stream media

finally grew a pair and realized how bad they have been screwed...and never even kissed!

[Eloriel]

87. It's a little like the lightbulbs all went off at once

in their beady little brains. It's been a rather amazing 24 hours. Let's hope it holds.

[Bonhomme Richard]

25. The shredders are going to be working overtime for the next..........

few weeks.

[Whoa_Nelly]

26. Looked for story link and found this

Why is it the world knows our doings before we do? (No answer needed...)

From Oct. 12 as posted on an Aussie site:

http://tinyurl.com/7255n

Halliburton can't justify contract work
By Christian Miller
Washington
August 13, 2004


Pentagon auditors have found that Halliburton Co. cannot properly document more than $US1.8 billion worth of work ($A2.5 billion) done under its contracts in Iraq and Kuwait.

The latest setback for the Houston-based oil services company came in an audit by the Defence Contract Auditing Agency, which also found that the company's system for generating cost estimates used in negotiations with the Government was inadequate.

The agency recommended that Government contracting officials demand action within 45 days and seek more detailed information during negotiations with Halliburton, which has contracts worth as much as $US18.2 billion in Iraq.

More
http://tinyurl.com/7255n

[MADem]

27. When they type out the warrant

They'd better include the temporary quarters of the Vice President at the Naval Observatory. That's where I'd hide the incriminating evidence, under that goddamn bunker they built out that way.

[Mojambo]

29. Rate it a 5

Freepers are going to try and shut this story down FAST.

[Goldmund]

43. There was a thread, and they promptly pulled it

[Blue_Tires]

30. what took them so long????

aww...did they get tired of people defrauding the country of BILLIONS??? the justice dept. probably didn't even care until the shortfalls started to affect their bottom line

[Nikepallas]

31. I think this is a sign that Kerry will win.

Think about it if the FBI is investigating then they must feel confident that Kerry is winning.

[Tamyrlin79]

32. Tackle?

Was al Qaqaa the "tackle" in this election, and now everything else is just piling on?

Keep piling... I know Bush would rather be talking about John Kerry being afraid of wolves than giving weapons to terrorists or Halliburton investigations.

[myrna minx]

33. Good lord, this has been a delicious week!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[OKNancy]

35. Related article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=928310

[AlinPA]

37. Yeah, 2 1/2 working days before the election. Big deal. Slimy media

will keep this buried with Arnold stories.

[Mojambo]

38. I'm tempted to check out Freeperland.

Those guys must be bloodied and bruised from this week.

Warms the heart, it really does.

[0rganism]

39. With AG Aschkroft in charge, is there any doubt as to the outcome?

"We looked into it, and find no evidence of any wrongdoing by Halliburton or its contractors."

This is like having a second fox investigate the fox that's guarding the henhouse.

[MidwestTransplant]

41. Ashcroft will only be AG for a few more months

[Mojambo]

46. Is there any chance that they wanted it to break now

So that when Bush is defeated he can issue pardons?

[bagnana]

40. that Halliburton spokeswoman sounds like a creep

Just in those few sentences she revealed herself like a slimy snail that just can't stay inside its shell but must ooze out. Even her reference to working for "democrat" administrations is telling. Its "Democratic," lady. Your Newt Gingrich is showing.

[jackofhearts]

42. It seems as if there are plenty of people

who want the war-mongering-corporate-humpin-neocon-fascists out of office. I do not think this shit is flying around by coincidence. You know if these cowards go down in flames come election day I might actually gain a little respect back for our democracy...maybe.

[UL_Approved]

44. I hope this coverage actually works

After nearly a quarter century of Republican rule, I hope that the bumbling attempts at running a propaganda machine during this administration have created enough cracks in the facade that people are able to look upon in astonishment at every one of the professional thieves, liars, bullies, and other choice examples of Neo-con exuberance. News coverage couldn't touch Regan, wore bush senior down, actually strengthened Clinton, and have made a mockery of our nation during the last four years. The world will be an interesting place on November 3rd. I'm glad we've moved into the age of the Internet and digital media, as this will be the ultimate stop block against these people. News articles, press releases, and movies like Fahrenheit 911 will be here forever, and the revisionist victories of the past are on the way out. And if you know your technological history, Al Gore is one of the co-authors of a bill for DARPANET, the precursor of the modern Internet. And to think we got convinced that he was a WORSE choice than the shrub....

[AngryOldDem]

58. But will it make any difference?

While this is good news, I wonder.

Why is this shit coming out now? It's been going on throughout his entire term. NOW people are just waking up and paying attention? Where the hell was everybody all along?

Five days before the election is not enough time with the public to hammer home all the implications of this should Bush get re-elected. This points how how miserably the media have failed us over the past four years. Enough questions have been raised about Halliburton that some kind of media investigation was warranted. To my knowledge, no such thing was done.

The media should also be all over the missing explosives story, but again they are giving Smirk a pass while the administration continues to spin utter bullshit. If Smirk gets re-elected I foresee a replay of Nixon's second term, only the stakes will be much, much higher, and I don't know if the country can stand it.

I know -- I'm wrong and naive. But I have a brother-in-law who lived in Austin during Smirk's "term" as governor, and if half of what was circulating then was even half looked into, Smirk could have been finished before the primaries in 2000 -- namely the rumors concerning his military service, which have more or less been borne out to be true this year. This is why I am so pissed at the media for not doing their job. They have fallen way down on the job and we all could be paying the price for it in some way, shape, or form.

[InternalDialogue]

47. Every time I try to get some work done

another delicious piece of cake gets served to me. Let's see: work... watch the castle crumble... work... watch the castle crumble...

[Tight_rope]

70. Welcome to DU InternalDialogue! Enjoy watchin the castle crumble!

[gauguin57]

48. Here's the story of OUR HERO, Ms. Greenhouse, who questioned contracts

Whistleblower tried to stop Halliburton deals ...

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101041101-733760,00.html

Time Magazine:

Beyond the Call of Duty
A whistle-blower objected to the government's Halliburton deals—and says now she's paying for it

In February 2003, less than a month before the U.S. invaded Iraq, Bunnatine (Bunny) Greenhouse walked into a Pentagon meeting and with a quiet comment started what could be the end of her career. On the agenda was the awarding of an up to $7 billion deal to a subsidiary of Houston-based conglomerate Halliburton to restore Iraq's oil facilities. ... Then several representatives from Halliburton entered. Greenhouse, a top contracting specialist for the Army Corps of Engineers, grew increasingly concerned that they were privy to internal discussions of the contract's terms, so she whispered to the presiding general, insisting that he ask the Halliburton employees to leave the room.

... She argued that the five-year term for the contract, which had not been put out for competitive bid, was not justified, that it should be for one year only and then be opened to competition. But when the contract-approval document arrived the next day for Greenhouse's signature, the term was five years. With war imminent, she had little choice but to sign. But she added a handwritten reservation that extending a no-bid contract beyond one year could send a message that "there is not strong intent for a limited competition."

Greenhouse's objections, which had not been made public until now, will probably fuel criticism of the government's allegedly cozy relationship with Halliburton and could be greeted with calls for further investigation. ...

Greenhouse seems to have got nothing but trouble for questioning the deal. Warned to stop interfering and threatened with a demotion, the career Corps employee decided to act on her conscience, according to her lawyer....

[TexasSissy]

49. It's about time someone investigated how MY tax dollars are being given

to Halliburton...or waster, I should say!

[pk_du]

50. Its on FAUX now - it must be true !! LOL

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,136985,00.html


...any bets on what else can hit the fan before end of the day?

[qanda]

51. This was breaking news on my local channel in Baltimore

I couldn't believe it. Do they want to lose?

[BattyDem]

59. Lead Story - NYC local news, too!

:bounce:

[maddezmom]

52. now will any of the cable outlets make reference to it tonight????

[pk_du]

53. Hmmm...methinks it must be time to bring out ALL the

dirty laundry!....any other Gov Dept want to throw something in the wash before we start this puppy up? and get a Fresh Start for America on Nov 2nd!

[BattyDem]

54. Hmmm .. do you think Georgie's really bad week ...

has anything to do with them outing Valerie Plame?
* broke the golden rule of political survival: never, EVER piss off the CIA! :evilgrin:

This gets better every day!

[steve2470]

55. great point ! I think he pissed off Tenet as well. I hope the

torrent of bad news doesn't stop until ALL the polls close, even in Alaska and Hawaii and Guam (do they vote there ?). Update: nope, unless they are American citizens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Guam
" organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior"

[Kadie]

56. FBI investigating how Halliburton got Bush administration contracts

FBI investigating how Halliburton got Bush administration contracts

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-10-28-fbi-halliburton_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA


I like how the headlines vary. Here is just another one.

[Occulus]

63. from that article

"The Corps is absolutely cooperating with the FBI, and it has been an ongoing effort," said Army Corps spokeswoman Carol Sanders. "Our role is to cooperate. It's a public contract and public funds. We've been providing them information for quite a while."

Oy!

[Tight_rope]

57. Hot DAMN!

[Algorem]

60. tv news here got done showing parts of Bush speech here today,then

"and this just in,breaking news,this can't be good news for the Bush campaign,the FBI...."AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!Excellent timing.

[Pirate Smile]

61. MSNBC just did a "flash" report on the story.

[vet_against_Bush]

62. About time! nt

[nixonwasbetterthanW]

64. Plame indictment

For a trifecta (AlQaQaa, Halliburton as first two), Fitzgerald could hand Rove his "walking papers" for the Friday night news.

[Tight_rope]

71. "Rove getting walking papers Friday"? Please don't tease!

The two people I want to see burn in hell the most are KKKarl Rove and Tom DeLay. And I'm sure that they have labeled seats up front waiting for them in Hell.

[swag]

65. Rated and kicked.

I'm still cheesed about no Plame indictments yet, and the stalling of the AIPAC/PNAC rump unit "espionage" investigation, but I'll take this.

Basic crony fraud is a bit easier for Americans to understand.

[pacifictiger]

67. stalling on indictment

means that Shrub will not be able to pardon wrongdoer. And that's not a bad thing.

[Rockholm]

68. Good. Burn Em!

They have burned us for BILLIONS in MY tax dollars.

[no safe haven]

69. Looks like it's payback time

Corruption stench as company loses Iraq contract
By Marian Wilkinson, Herald Correspondent in Washington
May 21, 2004

One of Australia's largest postwar contracts in Iraq has collapsed, with the partners embroiled in a multi-million-dollar legal battle and allegations of corruption in the awarding of contracts by a leading Pentagon supplier.

…snip…

The contract was to feed 18,000 troops at three camp sites in northern Iraq. But the US company quietly cancelled the deal six weeks later, saying that Morris and its Kuwaiti partner had not met their obligations.
Now an insider involved in the deal alleges that the Australian-Kuwaiti joint venture was approached by a Halliburton employee seeking kickbacks worth up to $3 million during the contract negotiations. "We're not talking about a paper bag. This guy was after a percentage of your sales every month."

…snip…

The new allegations that a bribe was sought by a Halliburton employee for the contract will raise serious concerns in Congress and the Pentagon, where Halliburton is already under investigation over kickbacks in a contract to supply fuel to the US military.

…more…

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/20/1085028468241.html

[underpants]

72. Yep the Pentagon brass is biting back

hate when that happens

[no safe haven]

76. Yeah, it's a crying shame

But then that's what you get when you have a bunch of chickenhawks trying to tell the *real* soldiers how to do their jobs.... Tough eh?

[txindy]

73. This is a mega-meltdown by Junior's campaign. It's hard to keep up!

Not that I mind. ;) Bring on more of Junior's chicken(hawk)s coming home to roost. Dick's too. Gee, when Dick wants to make use of all of those Halliburton stock options he holds, they'll be worthless. Golly. :evilgrin:

[LearnedHand]

74. Another article

"WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI has begun investigating whether the Pentagon improperly awarded no-bid contracts to Halliburton Co. (HAL), seeking an interview with a top Army contracting officer and collecting documents from several government offices."

<more...> http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041028/D860M2T80.html

[wishlist]

75. "elevates to a criminal matter the election year question of favoritism" !

Criminal matter- favoritism to VP Cheney's former company

This story should have hit the fan back in the spring when Frank Lautenberg and Dems in Senate first held hearings and urged for more investigations. Cheney should already have been impeached by now but I'm glad he is still on the ticket if this mess will help boot these crooks out the door and into the halls of infamy.

[Misunderestimator]

77. It's the lead story on CBS Evening News right now

:thumbsup:

[dweller]

81. Yesss...it is. Does this imply

there are criminals in the WH?

my my. Yes it does.

drip. drip.
dp

[msanthrope]

80. Go Bunny, go!!! eom....

[xyboymil]

82. Lead Story on Hardball with Chris Matthews!

On now

[Tatiana]

83. Looks like the career professionals are making a last stand against Bush.

It's not even Friday and look at all the bad news. This only means one thing... the media whores smell blood in the water.

Not even Rove and his cohorts will be able to stop the backlash now.

[sonias]

84. About time - big time for cheney in the slammer some day

CEOs at Halliburton and KBR and Cheney all belong in the slammer.

Fuck them.

Sonia

[SaintLouisBlues]

85. kick

[Soth]

86. BWAHAHAHA!!!

FBI SMASH!!!!

[Anarcho-Socialist]

89. I wonder how the misadministration can spin out of this one?

This is damaging stuff, but I have no problem with members of BFEE being added to an all ready overcrowded prison population.

[maddezmom]

90. haven't heard a peep yet, just *crickets*

[Carolab]

104. Will they be "interrogated"

and can we help??

[CelticWinter]

91. Wee Hawww!!!!!!!!

Its about time they did something about this mess. I feel like digging out my "Sucks to be You!" t-shirt and stand out in front of the repug headquarters down town and smile and wave :hi:
What can I say I feel like doing a happy dance.

[Kellis]

93. Cheney is gonna go down!!!

Those thugs in the WhiteHouse better pack their bags.

[VegasWolf]

92. Freepers TOTALLY upset about this story! Too bad!

New Information Shows Bush Indecisive, Paranoid, Delusional

[maddezmom]

94. Hardball covering story now...8pm CST

Stephen Kohn, Bunny's attorney talking now.

[maddezmom]

95. Kohn saying not politically motivated...his firm represented Linda Tripp

[Carolab]

96. Bunnatine still on the job

Kohn says if she's fired then this has a chilling effect on whistleblowers--that people doing their jobs cannot then come forward unimpeded to tell the American taxpayers what their government is doing and to give them information that is in their interest. YES!

[maddezmom]

97. now Adam Zagorin from Time Magazine

bet there's going to be a big story coming from TIME.

[goforit]

98. Which side will the FBI choose.....Bush? or Kerry?

Will they be able to face all those pissed off AMERICANS????

[lovuian]

99. FBI are a little Late on this one!!!

Better late than never

[goforit]

100. LOL!!!!........Do ya think that this is just a cover-up, like they are

pretending to work?

[maddezmom]

101. so frontpage tomorrow...NYT, WP or Wash Times, WSJ???

:)

[awgoodkitty]

102. How do you pronounce "Al QaQaa"?

Is it "ca-ca" as in "The * administration is now in deep ca-ca"? (hopefully) Or is it "quack quack" as in "* is a Lame Duck, quack quack?" I've always wondered....

Oh, and if you would like to see a great new anti-* video:

www.filmstripinternational.com (warning: contains naughty words)

and another song by the same group - also containing naughty words and shouting but all for a good cause:

http://www.bigego.com/egog/article.php?story=20041011122556842 (it's a free mp3 download from the band.

I love this board! An island of sanity in an ocean of madness.

[Carla in Ca]

103. I just finished reading this thread

You guys are THE greatest. I'm laughing, crying and excited! My gosh, what a baaaad week for *. Maybe now cable news will show some of Kerry's rallies instead of just mentioning them in passing...I hate that!
So, just one thing. The bombshell I'm waiting for is that secret CIA report that 'names names'. Anybody got an update?

[JSJ]

105. limited hang- for pr purposes only- the gov doesn't eat their own