FBI investigating Halliburton-Hmmm..

[reeds]

Im thinking if the FBI is involved, they must feel there are criminal vilolations that took place?? We shall see....

FBI Investigating Halliburton Contracts


By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The FBI (news - web sites) has begun investigating whether the Pentagon (news - web sites) improperly awarded no-bid contracts to Halliburton Co., seeking an interview with a top Army contracting officer and collecting documents from several government offices.


The line of inquiry expands an earlier FBI investigation into whether Halliburton overcharged taxpayers for fuel in Iraq (news - web sites), and it elevates to a criminal matter the election-year question of whether the Bush administration showed favoritism to Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites)'s former company.


FBI agents this week sought permission to interview Bunnatine Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers' chief contracting officer who went public last weekend with allegations that her agency unfairly awarded KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, no-bid contracts worth billions of dollars for work in Iraq, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.


Asked about the documents, Greenhouse's lawyers said Thursday their client will cooperate but that she wants whistleblower protection from Pentagon retaliation.


"I think it (the FBI interview request) underscores the seriousness of the misconduct, and it also demonstrates how courageous Ms. Greenhouse was for stepping forward," said Stephen Kohn, one of her attorneys.


"The initiation of an FBI investigation into criminal misconduct will help restore public confidence," Kohn said. "The Army must aggressively protect Ms. Greenhouse from the retaliation she will encounter as a result of blowing the whistle on this misconduct."


FBI agents also recently began collecting documents from Army offices in Texas and elsewhere to examine how and why Halliburton got the no-bid work.


"The Corps is absolutely cooperating with the FBI, and it has been an ongoing effort," said Army Corps spokeswoman Carol Sanders. "Our role is to cooperate. It's a public contract and public funds. We've been providing them information for quite a while."


Wendy Hall, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said the company is cooperating with various investigations, but she dismissed the latest revelation as election politics. She noted Congress' auditing arm, the Government Accountability Office, found the company's no-bid work in Iraq was legal.


"The old allegations have once again been recycled, this time one week before the election," Hall said. "The GAO said earlier this year that the contract was properly awarded because Halliburton was the only contractor that could do the work.


"We look forward to the end of the election, because no matter who is elected president, Halliburton is proud to serve the troops just as we have for the past 60 years for both Democrat and Republican administrations," she said.


Democrats have tried hard to make Halliburton an election-year issue


Sen. Frank Lautenberg (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (news - web sites) who has been investigating Halliburton's contracts, said his office was told the FBI recently sought documents from various government offices. The requests focused on how and why Halliburton got the Iraq contracts.


"This multibillion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton was suspicious from day one, and now our worst suspicions are confirmed," Lautenberg said. "The FBI doesn't get involved unless there are possible criminal violations."


In a formal whistleblower complaint filed last week, Greenhouse alleged the award of contracts without competition to KBR puts at risk "the integrity of the federal contracting program as it relates to a major defense contractor." The contracts were to restore Iraq's oil industry.


Among the evidence cited in the complaint was an internal 2003 Pentagon e-mail that says the Iraq contract "has been coordinated" with Cheney's White House office.


The vice president, who continues to receive deferred compensation from when he was Halliburton's chief executive in the late 1990s, has steadfastly maintained he has played no role in the selection of his former company for federal business.



The Army last week referred Greenhouse's allegations to the Defense Department's inspector general. Documents show FBI agents from Quad Cities, Ill., asked Tuesday to interview Greenhouse. Her lawyers declined to discuss the contacts.

Greenhouse alleged in her complaint that after her superiors signed off on the Iraq business in February 2003, a month before the war began, and returned it for her necessary approval, she specifically asked why the work was being extended for several years.

Beside her signature, Greenhouse wrote: "I caution that extending this sole-source effort beyond a one-year period could convey an invalid perception that there is not strong intent for a limited competition," the complaint said.

The oil restoration work was given to KBR without competitive bidding through 10 separate work assignments called "task orders." The orders were issued under an existing contract between Halliburton and the U.S. military that was awarded competitively in December 2001.

While the Corps was authorized to spend up to $7 billion for the oil restoration work, the actual cost so far has been $2.5 billion. Halliburton is still working on the oil facilities, but it is now operating under a new, competitively awarded contract.

___

[u2sarajevo]

Trying to hang your hat on something? Hmmmmmm.....

[reeds]

im not trying to NO....but, others must feel something is or has taken place..something worth checking out...

[mavsman55]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

[dude1394]

I think I just read that the FBI was investigating the NAACP because of their fradulent non-partisan status. You okay with that.

Let me quote. "but, others must feel something is or has taken place..something worth checking out.."

[reeds]

so what exactally are you saying? You disagree about an investigation? There should not be one? They are wasting their time?

[FishForLunch]

Yes the FBI should investigate NAACP for being and extension on the Democratic Party

[Dooby]

Sure. Investigate Haliburton for whatever they want. But as I keep pointing out, Haliburton is one of, if not the, largest construction companies in the world. These contracts could realistically be performed by probably no more than 2 or 3 companies in the world. Haliburton is probably the only american company and I just don't have a problem with giving a contract to them. If they prove that the contract is inflated, then that is another matter.

You guys would be surprised if you knew all the things KBR has built in this area alone.

[Mavdog]

Originally posted by: Dooby
Sure. Investigate Haliburton for whatever they want. But as I keep pointing out, Haliburton is one of, if not the, largest construction companies in the world. These contracts could realistically be performed by probably no more than 2 or 3 companies in the world. Haliburton is probably the only american company and I just don't have a problem with giving a contract to them. If they prove that the contract is inflated, then that is another matter.

You guys would be surprised if you knew all the things KBR has built in this area alone.

I don't have a problem with KBR/Halliburton being awarded a contract, I (and anybody who cares about integrity in Government contracting) want competitive bidding for contracts that are worth tens of billions of dollars, especially if they are done on a cost-plus basis such as these.

There are other American cos. (off the top of my head, Bechtel for instance) who are capable of this work. Giving a no-bid contract is not a good thing, especially to a company with strong ties to the current administration.

[MavKikiNYC]

Originally posted by: FishForLunch
Yes the FBI should investigate NAACP for being and extension on the Democratic Party

And CBS, and ABC, and the NYTimes, and Disney, and.......

I wish I could see conservative protesters occupy the offices of some of the above entities in protest of the lies they have promoted in favor of the Kerry campaign.

But conservatives tend to prefer to work and contribute to society rather than make meaningless gestures.

Maybe retirees........

[Dooby]

Originally posted by: Mavdog

I don't have a problem with KBR/Halliburton being awarded a contract, I (and anybody who cares about integrity in Government contracting) want competitive bidding for contracts that are worth tens of billions of dollars, especially if they are done on a cost-plus basis such as these.

There are other American cos. (off the top of my head, Bechtel for instance) who are capable of this work. Giving a no-bid contract is not a good thing, especially to a company with strong ties to the current administration.

Bechtel is the second-largest contractor in Iraq.

From the Washington Post: 3rd Quarter Haliburton Operating Income from Iraqi contracts: $34M; 3rd Quarter Haliburton total Operating Income: $900M. Iraq is responsible for 3.7% of Haliburton's operating income.

[Epitome22]

[quote]
Originally posted by: MavKikiNYC

Originally posted by: FishForLunch

I wish I could see conservative protesters occupy the offices of some of the above entities in protest of the lies they have promoted in favor of the Kerry campaign.

Unfortunately those organizations are filled with professionals, and have requirements such as a verifiable education, eliminating most conservatives from qualification. Besides Conservatives do just fine with newsmax and vitriolic right wing talk radio. Who needs professionals when you can just repeat ad hoc how liberals are destroying america, banning religion and trying to turn the USA into a french speaking nation.

[Drbio]

Congrats epitome....you've just made probably the most moronic post in d-m.com history.

[FreshJive]

Originally posted by: Dooby

Bechtel is the second-largest contractor in Iraq.

From the Washington Post: 3rd Quarter Haliburton Operating Income from Iraqi contracts: $34M; 3rd Quarter Haliburton total Operating Income: $900M. Iraq is responsible for 3.7% of Haliburton's operating income.

Iraq is responsible for a large percentage of Haliburton's revenues, but the revenues aren't very profitable. The negative press also hurts thier stock price, so Haliburton is actually somewhat hurt by the Iraqi contracts. Also, Haliburton plans to dump KBR in the near future, so they can become a purely oil services business.

[Mavdog]

Halliburton increased its revenue from $2.6B in 3Q 2003 to $5.0B in 2004, almost entirely due to the Iraq contracts (increased revenue to their "Engineering and Construction Group").

That division has over $200M that is being held back by the US Government due to questions on the billing. Halliburton cannot book that income, while it has to book the expenses. When you add in the money withheld by the Government, Halliburton would show more than twice the net income, and the E&C division would make more money than any other division.

[FreshJive]

I don't believe that is true. The money will still show up as recievables in the books, so it won't be calculated as a loss until they know for sure they aren't getting it.

Even if it were true: "The company's KBR engineering and construction unit, which has been mired in controversy for its work with the U.S. military in Iraq where it is the largest private contractor, posted a $50 million operating loss in the quarter versus a $49 million profit in the same period a year ago." Yahoo Finance

50 million is 25% of 200 Million. Halliburton is not earning 25% profit on the project. So they would still have a loss. However most of that loss has to do with Asbestos settlements and restructuring costs.

Also from Yahoo Finance:"Revenues from its Iraq-related work totaled $1.4 billion in the quarter, but yielded only $4 million in operating income before corporate costs and taxes."

I believe that this includes the disputed recievables as revenue, but if it didn't: whatever return they expect on that 200 million (probably like 3-5%) wouldn't equal what they made on their oil services branch.

"The Energy Services Group posted operating income of $414 million in the quarter, up from $244 in the year-ago quarter, on a 17 percent increase in revenues to $2.1 billion." Yahoo Finance.

[Mavdog]

Sure they will carry the amount owed as an AR on the Balance Sheet, but it doesn't show up on the Income Statement/P&L.

The AR increased close to $1B over last year.

I recall that the profit margin on the contracts was around 12%.

The asbestos issues are not in the KBR unit that is the contractor in Iraq. Those costs (that unit is in a Chap 11 filing BTW) are consolidated in the parent but not included in the KBR unit finacial performance you mentioned.

[Dooby]

Originally posted by: Mavdog


The asbestos issues are not in the KBR unit that is the contractor in Iraq. Those costs (that unit is in a Chap 11 filing BTW) are consolidated in the parent but not included in the KBR unit finacial performance you mentioned.

It is in bankruptcy, but it isn't. It is the same thing, but it isn't. It is very complicated. The KBR bankruptcy plan is like 800+ pages long.