U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina said "embarrassment is not sufficient cause for exemption" when the Army Corps of Engineers refused to release FOIA documents that provide proof of corruption and cronyism by the Bush/ Cheney government when awarding no-bid contracts to Halliburton and subsidiaries.
Here's the crime:
That email, dated in March of 2003 was sent by an official of the Army Corps whose name was redacted. It stated, "We anticipate no issue (with the KBR deal) since the action has been coordinated w [sic] VP's office."
And here'e the cover-up uncovered by Judicial Watch:
"The US district judicial court judge had to get personally involved and look at these documents in private before they could be released," a Judicial Watch employee told RAW STORY.
"And what the judge said when he saw them was, 'turn them over,'" the staffer added. "They were abusing the FOIA process -- embarrassment is not sufficient cause for exemption."
Links, scoop, image snippets seen at Raw Story.
The Cheney contradiction is not the only cause for embarrassment in the documents.
One email, for example, includes a frank admission by an Army Corps of Engineer official: "I am copying you on this crap since I honestly believe the competitive procurement will never happen."
Hmm hm HMM.
[Update: EXCELLENT comment from Bcre8ve:
The value of Cheney's Halliburton stock options rose in value 3281% in one year.
From The Carpetbagger Report:
An analysis released today by the Office of Senator Frank R. Lautenberg reveals that Vice President Cheney's Halliburton stock options have increased in value 3,281 percent in one year. The stock options, which were worth $241,498 one year ago are now valued at $8,165,489.07. In light of the surging value of Vice President Cheney's holdings, Senator Lautenberg reiterated his call for the Vice President to forfeit his continuing financial interest in the Halliburton Co (HAL). Vice President Cheney continues to hold 433,333 Halliburton stock options and receives almost $200,000 a year in deferred salary from Halliburton.
The site has links to Lautenberg's report on Cheney's finances.
As Halliburton's fortunes rise, so do the Vice President's, and that is wrong," said Senator Lautenberg. "Halliburton has already raked in more than $10 billion from the Bush-Cheney Administration for work in Iraq, and they were awarded some of the first Katrina contracts. It is unseemly for the Vice President to continue to benefit from this company at the same time his Administration funnels billions of dollars to it. The Vice President should sever his financial ties to Halliburton once and for all."
On Sept. 14, Cheney said on the NBC News program "Meet the Press" that "Since I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years."
This statement is clearly not true.
The Center for Public Integrity also has a report on how Cheney has exempted himself from filing travel disclosures, and we all know what an issue these trips have become lately.
But don't worry, the president and the vice president are both exempt from the enforcement of ethics laws.
Business as usual in the Bush years.
I guess you have to actually lose money, like Clinton, to be investigated for financial wrong-doing in the new political paradigm.
Iraq War motive? Check. Extortion? Check.