Cheney didn't recall Halliburton details

[Robbien]

Source: Associated Press

The SEC on Tuesday released the sworn testimony of Cheney, Halliburton's former chief executive officer, which he provided in a 2004 interview of accounting problems at Halliburton. The SEC said Cheney wasn't the target and he cooperated fully with the probe into Halliburton's accounting for cost overruns at a construction project in Egypt and other countries.

A transcript of Cheney's testimony hadn't been released until Dow Jones Newswires obtained a copy through the Freedom of Information Act.

In his testimony, Cheney suggested former Halliburton finance executives were to blame for the accounting issue. He said the chief financial officer was "probably" the person "whose general area of responsibility this fell into."

. . .

Cheney's account differs from testimony by a Halliburton executive whom the SEC didn't identify in its documents. People familiar with the matter, however, identified him as Gary Morris, the former CFO. Morris testified he told Cheney about plans to treat some disputed, over-budget expenses as revenue. He said he told Cheney before a 1998 Halliburton board meeting that addressed recording of cost overruns for the Egyptian project.

The SEC earlier this year withdrew charges against Morris, citing "the interest of justice."

Morris told the SEC that he met with Cheney in the CEO's Dallas office in July 1998, shortly before a Halliburton board meeting, to discuss the project in Egypt.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8S1C6680.htm

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A grossly misleading headline obviously downplaying the issue hoping readers skip the article itself. If the fine paid was $7.5 mil, the actual malfeasance must have been in the tens or hundreds of millions.

[Baby Snooks]

1. The Ken Lay Defense

"I hired all these other people to take care of the day-to-day business of the company so I could tend to more important matters like keeping track of my stock options."

[lovuian]

2. yep

SEC is so scared of Cheney you can tell tip toeing all around him

[annabanana]

3. Just another sad case of

Republican CRS.

[formercia]

4. I's the Mafia Mantra

"I can't recall"

[DrDan]

5. He wanted to treat over-budget expenses as revenue??????

Now I am not a CPA - and hated the 2 accounting courses that I had in college, but . . . . this sure sounds criminal to me.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. That's not creative accounting. That's fraud.

[DrDan]

7. and isn't it interesting that the SEC decided not to pursue

criminal charges "in the interest of justice".

Seems to me, the interest of justice would have support just the opposite.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. The book that needs to be written, is the one that will outline every time

this mostly, anglo-americans got a pass from criminal prosecution. It will come in handy the next time we need to provide evidence in favor of Affirmative Action.

[Robbien]

11. The SEC was right about dropping charges against the CFO

The CFO went to Cheney and discussed the issue before the board was advised. I've been in meetings such as this. Usually the guy in Cheney's position would be pushing to record higher revenue and the CFO would be advising that to do so is against GAAP which will lead to trouble. Unless the CFO is very forceful, the guy in Cheney's position wins these arguments.

But Cheney blamed the whole thing on the CFO saying he himself knew nothing about it. So on Cheney's word, the CFO got charged, but the charges were dropped and the case closed after the investigators talked to the CFO. This tells me the investigator believed the CFO but is afraid to go ahead and charge the real person responsible.

[DrDan]

14. Now that is an interesting thought.

[Froward69]

9. yet annother example of

War profiteering.

[onehandle]

10. Where is that fucker anyway?

What is Cheney up to right now?

[Javaman]

12. I don't recall, I don't remember, I misremembered, I misstated,

I missunderstood my recall. I don't recall recalling, I recalled that I didn't recall, I recalled that I thought I recalled, but I later realized that I didn't recall at all...recall.

[CountAllVotes]

13. just like Ronnie Reagun

he couldn't remember anything either. :dunce:

[Baby Snooks]

15. To be fair...

To be fair, Ronald Reagan probably didn't remember. But "Mommy" of course did. But she always whispered in his ear "I don't recall" at which point he would say "I don't recall."

Some in the media always hoped for the moment he would slip and say "Nancy doesn't recall." She at least trained him well.