Posted on 03/22/2003 7:16:36 AM PST by Liz
WASHINGTON (AP) - Richard Perle, a Defense Department adviser, said Friday he is helping bankrupt Global Crossing Ltd. try to win government approval of its sale to foreign companies, a deal that has prompted concerns about national security.
Perle would receive $725,000 for his work, including $600,000 if the government approves Global Crossing's sale to a joint venture of two Asian firms, according to lawyers and others involved in the bankruptcy case.
As chairman of the Defense Policy Board, Perle is covered by the government ethics prohibition on using public office for private gain. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld named him to the board in 2001.
Perle, an assistant defense secretary in the Reagan administration and a presidential campaign adviser to George W. Bush, said he has not violated ethics rules.
"The guiding principle here is that you do not give advice in the Defense Policy Board on any particular matter in which you have an interest," Perle said in an interview. "And I don't do that. I haven't done that."
Among his other business dealings, Perle is a director of Autonomy, a data mining company that lists the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department among its U.S. government customers.
Global Crossing built a 100,000 mile, high-speed fiber optic network before it collapsed under $12.4 billion in debt in January 2002. Its plan to emerge from bankruptcy would leave its investors with nothing, while debtholders would receive pennies on the dollar and a minority stake in the re-emerging firm.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa and Singapore Technologies Telemedia purchased the company for $250 million in August. But the deal requires federal approval and is under review by a government group that includes representatives from the Defense Department.
That review will take longer than expected, a result of concerns about having the telecommunications network controlled by a company with close ties to China.
Perle said he is helping Global Crossing figure out how to structure the deal to allay national security concerns. In a statement, the company said Perle is aiding it in the regulatory review process.
He said he has no conflict of interest because the Defense Policy Board is not part of the review.
Perle said the issue of a conflict was raised by what he called an irrelevant and inappropriate reference to his Defense Policy Board role in a document that is being prepared for submission in the Global Crossing bankruptcy case.
The document is being revised, he said.
Come now, you can come up with a better excuse than that.
You can betcha boots the Dems are taking cover.
Among his other business dealings, Perle is a director of Autonomy, a data mining company that lists the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department among its U.S. government customers.
...Selling fiber-optic networks to the Chinese, and mining data on US citizens. Thanks Richard, hope the money is worth it you prick.
Very nice take, SOTS.
Perle has positioned himself as a neo-con.
Just goes to show.......
Perle is selling out too cheap, everyone else got millions.
Doesn't disclose his "investment" in new company, or offshore accounts established,
or other "fees" paid. If and when he cashs out, we might get an inkling of the payout.
You nailed it.
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