Official: Cheney Not Briefed on Iraq Work

[GreenPartyVoter]

"Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff was told in 2002 that Cheney's former company would receive no-bid work to secretly plan restoration of Iraq's oil facilities, but the information wasn't given to the vice president, a White House official said Tuesday.

Kevin Kellems, Cheney's spokesman, told The Associated Press he confirmed the decision not to inform Cheney with the vice president's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

"The vice president was not informed" that Halliburton would get the Defense Department contract, Kellems said.

Libby informed participants at a Defense Department briefing in October 2002 that "the vice president's office would not be involved and would have nothing to do with the matter," Kellems said."

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040616/D83848CO0.html

[KuroKensaki]

1. Last night, on Chris Matthews..

Chris and Al Franken made mention that the contracts were coordinated directly -with- Cheney, not 'his office'.

Why the hell do we hear so much about the man's office, anyway? Deniability, perhaps..

Anyway, can anyone cite the proper sources as to Cheney being -personally- in the loop?

[rfranklin]

2. Wink, wink...ya know what I mean?

Riiiiiiiight!

[Skidmore]

3. My a$$....

These people would know how to tell the truth if they were given a complete set of instructions.

[LittleApple81]

4. LIIIIIAAAAAAAARRRRRSSSSSSS!!!!!!! n/t

[lil-petunia]

6. Not really, if you think about it

They didn't have a conversation with Cheney's "OFFICE"

as in

"Hiya, office, how you feeling to day? Love that carpet. need a paint touch up? Lighting ok? Oh, by the way, office, we are signing contracts with Halliburton, do ya mind?"

[teryang]

5. The appearance of impropriety is overwhelming

It is also a Federal ethics violation. This chinese wall they are trying to construct is pathetic. Knowledge of the agent is imputed to the principal.

"Well, my personal assistant saw to it that they got the no bid contract, but I didn't know a thing about it, I only get monthly checks from Halliburton."

The lie is so wholly ineffective in terms of ethics regulations, why do they even bother? This is the most corrupt regime I've seen.

[soothsayer]

8. it's not the monthly checks, it's the stock options cheney still holds

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/politics/main575356.shtml

Don't forget, Halliburton lost 1 billion dollars a year for the two years prior to being awarded a, get this, 2 billion dollar contract. What a coincidence.

This was a make or break year for halliburton. Had this little ol' 2 billion dollar contract come along, cheney's options would be worthless.

[teryang]

9. Good link

<Without naming Cheney or Halliburton, the service reported that unexercised stock options and deferred salary "are among those benefits described by the Office of Government Ethics as 'retained ties' or 'linkages' to one's former employer." >

[amber dog democrat]

7. The VP is not briefed on much of anything

That might account for his continued insistance that there is a link between Iraq and OBL. He plans to keep up plausable deniability...for as long as he can.

He is no more credible than the Chimp.

Maybe they meant to present the no bid contract to Haliburton to Cheney as a surprise.