A Halliburton Briefing from the White House
Q I just want to go back to what I began asking you about. Halliburton, as you know, is already under investigation by the Inspector General of the DOD for allegedly over-charging for fuel contracts. Now there are allegations of corruption regarding one of its subsidiaries. Is the President getting hincky at all about this company's involvement in what is one of the most critical issues for his administration, particularly the idea that any time something happens involving this company, it comes right back around to the White House -- because of the Vice President --
MR. McCLELLAN: Exactly. The question, which you've acted like you were surprised that people were trying to politicize this for election year advantage.
Q No, I'm just wondering if he's getting hincky at all about allegations of over-charging and now corruption?
MR. McCLELLAN: John, those contract decisions are made by the Department of Defense. And if there are problems there, we expect the Department of Defense to look into that, to get to the bottom of it, and fix that problem. And the President has made that very clear. I don't think the President of the United States could have been clearer when that question was asked of him in the Roosevelt Room just a few months ago.
Q My question is, is he personally getting a little concerned about this company's involvement in one of the most critical issues facing this administration?
MR. McCLELLAN: There are a lot of safeguards that have been put in place in the contracting process. We expect those safeguards to be followed, and I think that that is exactly what is happening now, because the Department of Defense is moving forward to look into that matter and to get to the bottom of it. And then if there were over-payments, we expect that to be repaid in full.
Q I have a follow-up. The Associated Press is reporting today that a French judge is investigating a bribery scandal involving Halliburton when the Vice President Dick Cheney was the CEO of that company. And the judge, according to this AP report today, has warned Cheney that he could be subject to criminal charges in France concerning this bribery scandal in Nigeria. So the question is, if the French want to extradite the Vice President to stand trial in France, will the President allow for that extradition? (Laughter.)
MR. McCLELLAN: Did I just talk about people using this for election year advantage?
Go ahead, John.
Q No, this is an AP report about a criminal investigation of Halliburton.
MR. McCLELLAN: And I've heard your political commentary about it, and I think we'll move on.
Get the rest of the briefing.
Matt's Chat
HALLIBURTON! HALLIBURTON! HALLIBURTON! HALLIBURTON! HALLIBURTON! HALLIBURTON!
The sky is falling. The sky is falling.
HALLIBURTON! HALLIBURTON! HALLIBURTON! HALLIBURTON!
This stuff is just too funny to seriously comment on...really. Maybe Mark will give it a shot...
Mark's Remarks
It is very serious, Matt. The lib press is good at getting buzzwords out there. Right now, they and the Dim 7 get the words Halliburton out with every speech, you would think the President was Halliburton. They want Americans to get into that whole "you corporate pigs, die!" mentality for the election. It is ridiculous in its illogic, but it is effective, and it is very serious.
Look, the Defense Department reviews contracts and does all that stuff. Bush just gets the money appropriated from Congress. The DoD does all the decisionis on who to buy from. Nuff Said!
