Posted on 07/09/2002 9:00:37 PM PDT by kattracks
MIAMI, Jul 09, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Judicial Watch said Tuesday it will file a shareholders lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney and his former employer, Halliburton Co., claiming they engaged in accounting fraud.
Cheney was chairman and chief executive of the oil field-services giant from 1995 to 2000. Halliburton announced on May 28 that it received notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the commission was looking into Halliburton's accounting methods - adopted in 1998 - for reporting cost overruns on construction jobs.
The SEC has not filed any charges against Halliburton.
Before 1998, the company had been more conservative, reporting such revenue only after settling with customers.
Judicial Watch, a Washington-based watchdog group, said those accounting practices resulted in the overvaluation of Halliburton's shares, deceiving investors.
"We're seeking actual and punitive damages for allegations of securities fraud, for changing accounting practices and not advising the public of these changes," Judicial Watch chairman and general counsel Larry Klayman said Tuesday night in Miami.
Klayman said his group is suing the companies on behalf of two Halliburton shareholders.
Messages seeking comment from Cheney and the White House were not immediately returned late Tuesday.
"We don't believe that there's any merit to this case," Halliburton spokeswoman Zelma Branch said Tuesday evening.
Also named in the suit, which is expected to be filed Wednesday in federal court in Dallas by Judicial Watch, are 10 of Halliburton's board members. Klayman said auditor Arthur Andersen LLP will also be named in the lawsuit.
Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for Andersen, declined to comment.
Under Texas law, the lawsuit can only specify that it seeks damages greater than $200,000. Judicial Watch is seeking far more.
"We're looking for millions of dollars in damages. We're looking to hold Vice President Cheney and others accountable," Klayman said. "We have no faith in the Bush administration and we have no faith in the Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation."
Judicial Watch has sued for access to records of the Cheney-led energy task force that drafted the Bush administration's energy policy.
Shares of Halliburton were down 21 cents to close at $14.12 in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
By TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
I wonder if they are now receiving solicitations from JW, just like everybody else did.
Nope. No media bias there.
Exactly! This is completely biased reporting by AP. Judicial Watch seems to come up with a couple of far out lawsuits every week, which nobody else pays any attention to. I've come to skip over these stories from NewsMax.Com when they pop up on Free Republic for that reason. But as soon as one lawsuit pops up against the Republicans, suddenly AP calls Judicial Watch "a watchdog group" and sends the story out all over the world under their byline as a breaking news story. It's completely biased for AP to treat Judicial Watch seriously now, because it fits in with their political agenda. This is manufacturing the news, not reporting it. We shouuld contact AP and ask them to please run some of the the stories that their "watchdog group" has uncovered over the last few years!
A Lexis-Nexis search for "Judicial Watch" for the eight years Clinton was president produced 257 hits. The mainstream media did not exactly ignore Klayman.
A Lexis-Nexis search for "Judicial Watch" for the eight years Clinton was president produced 257 hits. The mainstream media did not exactly ignore Klayman.Yet, what exactly was 'reported' by the media? That Judicial Watch was a 'right wing attack' oganization? That Judicial Watch was part of the 'right wing conspiracy'? That Judicial Watch was part of the unceasing Republican attacks on Clinton?Did the media 'hits' state the nature and background of the Judicail Watch lawsuits against Clinton? I will venture to guess that many if not all these '257 hits' were of the slough it off nature, that is "we need to get to work for the American people".
The press typically described Judicial Watch as a conservative or right-wing organization during this time period, which was an accurate characterization.
The press typically described Judicial Watch as a conservative or right-wing organization during this time period, which was an accurate characterization.But presently it behooves the media to describe JW as "Judicial Watch, a Washington-based watchdog group,.."
And my contention is that the media characterized, within the past '257 hits', that JW was JUST on another Clinton witchhunt.
The gratuitous slurs are probably going to be the most subtantial result of all this.
I just wish that Judicial Watch would cooperate with the IRS's attempt to audit its financial records.
Perhaps Judicial Watch lost the "conservative or right-wing" label after it starting targeting Republicans and appeared much less partisan.
Perhaps Judicial Watch lost the "conservative or right-wing" label after it starting targeting Republicans and appeared much less partisan.Ahhhh but Judicial Watch did target Republicans in the late 1990's. JW attacked the then NY mayor Rudy Guiliani for misuse of NY resources for campaigning, JW sided with Gore in the Forida election chaos, JW sated that the Robert Ray reports were a sham, JW sponsored the "Ethics in Government Presidential Debate" (stating that Bush would not address any impeachment issues), called Republicans 'gutless, frightened and shameful in that they didn't request the SEC Energy Bill Richarhson's resignation.
Yet JW didn't seem to lose the "conservative or right-wing" label when it came to subsequently question/sue 'new' illegal Democrat actions.
Instead the media performed its normal enabling/apologist presentation of the Democrat 'spin'.
JW's motto is " Because no one is above the Law". Seems to fit with the FR mission statement of which one goal is to 'root out corruption in government'.
Got Bias? Suddenly, Larry Klayman Tops the Reuters Charts
Source: Reuters via Yahoo; Published: Jul 10,2002
After hundreds of lawsuits, and the howling roar of silence from Reuters regarding them, Judicial Watch's latest ditty shockingly debuts at Numero Uno on the Reuters “Top Stories” Yahoo charts:
Group Sues Cheney, Halliburton over Accounting
Wed Jul 10,10:15 AM ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - A public interest legal group filed a shareholder lawsuit on Wednesday alleging Vice President Dick Cheney ( news - web sites) and the oil services company he ran for five years, Halliburton Co., as well as accounting firm Andersen, defrauded shareholders through accounting fraud. ................"
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