When it rains...... FBI investigating Halliburton/Bushco. links

[newsguyatl]

AP NewsBreak: FBI begins investigating how Halliburton got Bush administration contracts

By JOHN SOLOMON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- 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.
FBI agents this week sought permission to interview Bunnatine
Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers' chief contracting officer
who went public last weekend with allegations that her agency
unfairly awarded a Halliburton subsidiary no-bid contracts worth
billions of dollars in Iraq, according to documents obtained by The
Associated Press.

[IdaBriggs]

1. Loving it!!! :) nt

[Proud2BAmurkin]

2. Is this for real????????????

?

[michigandem2]

3. are you shitting me???

holy shit...this has been an unbelievable day..and Rove is going to be an angry lil trolly man...we better prepare...

[Beetwasher]

4. My Head Is Spinning, This Is Unreal!

How can they recover? It's impossible...

[newsguyatl]

8. LOL! i know

and drudge is still trying to push his lame terror tape story... lol

[beanball]

17. that ole dog of mine

that looks like my dog woody,he is much smarter than most republicans.Come home woody, a job well done.

[Gut Check]

5. Release the hounds !! n/t

[AndrewJacksonFaction]

6. Wow. What has been going on? Karl is this you?

[Beaverhausen]

7. here is a link to the story at yahoo

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

[mcg]

18. Rated it a 5 and emailed it. Kick.

[Texas_Dem]

9. It all catches up to them in the end.

[michigandem2]

10. i can't believe that this came out on HIS end..

he probably thought it would be tucked away until after election day...

I am so glad this is out...

[klook]

11. "Criminal matter"

Go, Bunnatine, go!

[yardwork]

12. Shouldnta outed that undercover CIA operative....

big big mistake to piss off the CIA....long memories....access to lots of documents....trained in how to sneak around......

Memo to George: Don't piss off the CIA. Doh!

[TexasChick]

13. That's what you get for effin' with the CIA, Chimp! n/t

[liberal_in_GA]

14. rate it up!

:kick:

[Mandate My Ass]

15. Yayyyyyyyyy for Bunny Greenhouse

because of her I'm hearing the words I've longed to hear for so long:

...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.

[gauguin57]

16. 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....