Bubble bath, indeed.
Posted on 05/17/2005 9:32:10 AM PDT by areafiftyone
May 17, 2005 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British MP George Galloway told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday he rejected charges he profited from the Iraq oil-for-food program and complained he was being treated unfairly by a Senate committee.
"I am not now, nor have I ever been, an oil trader, and neither has anyone on my behalf," he told the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as he began refuting the committee's accusations.
"I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one, and neither has anybody on my behalf," Galloway said.
Addressing the Republican chairman of the committee, Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, he added: "Now I know that standards have slipped over the last few years in Washington, but for a lawyer, you are remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice."
Galloway was a witness before the committee that is examining how ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein used oil to reward politicians, particularly from Russia, France and Britain, under the United Nations oil-for-food program.
Galloway, a maverick kicked out of the British Labour Party for his fervent opposition to the Iraq war and for personal attacks on Prime Minister Tony Blair, has dismissed allegations by the committee that he benefited from the program.
The committee last week released documents it said showed Saddam gave Galloway the rights to export 20 million barrels of oil under the defunct humanitarian program.
I don't especially like his accent. Maybe because he makes me want to vomit?
So I wonder how he explains the documents?
Interesting to hear a lefty nutjob extolling the virtues of justice when it's personal. Where was his outcry when Saddam was killing and raping children?
Arrogant jerk...
While American lawyers definitely ain't on the top of anybody's popularity list, they're still our lawyers.
gallowayg@parliament.uk
The Bennis Kucinich of British politics.
A couple of years ago while I was on some English site, this bird's vacation home in Spain--on an MPs salary--was all they talked about.
Bennis, Duh. You get the picture.
LOL I got it.
I wonder when DU will start a fund raiser for him? Serously, I have never seen a barrel of oil? WTH does that have to do with anything? Does he think that commodoties traders ever actually receive delivery of the oil? I believe he was given the oppurtunity to trade the futures on the oil.
Exactly what I was thinking. This dam lyin' s-o-b knows the best defense is a great offense. And boy is he offensive.
The same could be true of me. I hold stock in Exxon, which means that I may never have seen an actual barrel of oil, or owned a barrel of oil, or bought a barrel of oil, or sold a barrel of oil, nor has the Exxon Corporation bought a barrel of oil on my personal behalf.
But the Exxon Corporation, as a holding company, does own operating companies that see, own, buy and sell barrels of oil.
And they deposit the cash from those transactions up to their finance company which in turn extends an internal line of credit or other internal financing arrangement to the holding company which issues stock that my broker buys for me.
So, like George Galloway, I am at least three removes from the actual transactions in the real goods - but I still profit when those transactions are profitable.
Mr. Galloway, instead of buying shares in a publicly traded company in exchange for cash, bought shares in the illegal criminal enterprise known as Saddam Inc. in exchange for influence influence.
And so his semantic games will not fly.
From your keyboard to heaven's ears...
All the media I have consulted have reported Galloway's comments but none have reported any kind of questioning or response from the congressional committee. Did this hack speak to an empty room? Or did the congressmen just sit back and let him spew his venom?
I noticed that too. i'm in a cubie at work so I didn't get to watch it on CSpan.
Man, you got my attention ;-)
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