Top Senate Democrat wants probe of Halliburton

The Halliburton fraud and waste was rampant in Iraq. And Cheney, who has had his fingers in EVERYTHING, claims to be "out of the loop" (remember when Bush I claimed that about Iran/Contra?) on dealings for his old company which still pays him MILLIONS OF DOLLARS (how the hell is that possible?!!!!!!).

This kind of corruption can not stand. Support John Kerry for president and wash these criminally immoral creeps into the gutter where they belong this November.


Top Senate Democrat wants probe of Halliburton

Tue Jun 15, 7:00 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The leader of Senate Democrats called Tuesday for a probe of energy behemoth Halliburton, which he accused of "outrageous" billing of the US government for services in Iraq.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle said at a press conference that he was "absolutely appalled" at alleged excessive billing and profligate spending by Halliburton.

"In a couple of instances, rather than fix what appears to be relatively minor repairs on 85,000 dollar trucks, they destroyed them and simply went out and bought a new truck," Daschle said.

In another incident, "they had a 10,000 dollar hotel bill in Kuwait when they could have had a room for 600 dollars ... in another hotel," Daschle said.

"These are examples of the outrageous behavior of people who see no need for accountability, and it's why it's so critical for us to insist on adequate oversight, insist that we pressure Halliburton for answers. And so far, we just have not received them."

The energy company, which already is being investigated by the US government for allegedly overcharging the military for fuel delivered to Iraq, recently became the subject of a probe into whether a Halliburton joint venture broke US anti-bribery laws to win construction contracts for a gas plant in Nigeria.

Critics also have called for an investigation into the legality of a multibillion-dollar no-bid oil deal awarded to Halliburton. Time Magazine earlier this month cited an internal Pentagon e-mail indicating that a top defense official was tasked with shepherding the contract, which faced no competing bids. There were questions as to whether Vice President Dick Cheney facilitated the contract.

Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive officer between 1995 and 2000.