Vice President Deceived Public On Halliburton Contracts

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.
• 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.
• 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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