JUST DON'T ASK ME TO RETURN MY HARD EARNED BRIBES FROM WHOREACLE/LOGICON!
Posted on 05/09/2002 6:17:33 AM PDT by randita
Lockyer returns Oracle's $50,000 contribution
He wants to avoid appearance of conflict during investigation
Paul Feist, Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Thursday, May 9, 2002
Sacramento -- Attorney General Bill Lockyer returned $50,000 in campaign contributions from Oracle on Wednesday, saying he wanted to remove even the "slightest appearance" of a conflict of interest as he probes a state contracting scandal involving the software giant.
Lockyer, who has opened civil and criminal investigations into a $95 million software contract, had faced questions from Republicans about whether he could impartially investigate the no-bid deal that state officials signed with Oracle last year.
Lockyer, a Democrat, called such speculation "baseless" but said the questions had become a distraction as his office investigates "allegations of wrongdoing at the highest levels of government."
"Returning these funds will help us focus public attention and public policy on the procurement processes of state government that may require reform," Lockyer wrote to company officials.
Last week, Lockyer insisted that the donation would not prevent his attorneys from conducting a full and fair investigation and even joked with reporters that he wished the contribution -- which Oracle made before the contract was signed -- was more generous.
Gov. Gray Davis said Wednesday that he hadn't decided whether to return $45, 000 in Oracle contributions. Later in the day, Oracle issued a statement saying Davis had decided to return a $25,000 contribution, but a spokesman for the governor said that was wrong.
"He hasn't ruled it in, and he hasn't ruled it out," Davis campaign spokesman Roger Salazar said.
Davis' director of e-government, Arun Baheti, met with an Oracle lobbyist in a Sacramento bar two weeks after the contract was signed and accepted the $25,000 check on behalf of the governor's re-election campaign.
Davis has said he didn't know about the contract as it was being negotiated.
He said he "didn't have a clue" why top officials in his administration rushed the contract through legal review.
JOB VICTIMS
In addition to Baheti, Department of General Services director Barry Keene, who signed the contract, has resigned, and the governor's director of information technology, Elias Cortez, has been suspended with pay.
A state audit concluded that the contract could saddle California taxpayers with between $6 million and $41 million in extra costs.
Oracle, in the contract signed May 31, 2001, offered up to 10 years worth of database software and support services for virtually every department in the state, but after nearly a year not one state agency had asked to use the software, according to the state auditor.
Oracle said that the audit is flawed and maintains that the state could save up to $163 million in volume purchases if the contract is extended to 10 years. The company, however, said it is willing to rescind the contract, citing bad publicity.
The scandal has shaken the Capitol and created a major distraction for Davis as he seeks re-election. In addition to Lockyer's probe, the U.S. attorney has asked the FBI to explore whether a federal investigation is needed.
A legislative committee headed by Assemblyman Dean Florez, D-Shafter, is conducting hearings on the deal. When told by The Chronicle Wednesday that he had received a $1,000 Oracle donation in 2000, Florez said he would return the money.
"If I got a penny, I will return it," he said.
BILLIONAIRE BROTHERS
Efforts to rescind the Oracle contract could hinge on a company controlled by two billionaire brothers who give generously to GOP causes -- including the effort to defeat Davis in the 1998 contest for governor.
Koch Financial Corp. played a key role in completing the contested Oracle contract and stands to profit in the deal.
"Koch is owed money under the terms of the contract, and we do have an obligation to pay them," said Sandy Harrison, spokesman for the state Department of Finance.
Oracle began face-to-face discussions Wednesday with state officials on how to cancel the contract. Although Oracle and business partner Logicon have pledged to work to rescind the contract, Koch Financial has yet to make any public statements on its involvement.
Repeated phone calls to Koch Financial were not returned.
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, which is run by Charles and David H. Koch of Wichita, Kan. The brothers and their company have given more than $1 million in soft money to Republican causes.
In 1998, records show that David Koch gave $5,000 to then-Attorney General Dan Lungren, who was the GOP candidate against Davis.
Koch Financial paid $52.7 million to Oracle's partner, Logicon, on behalf of the state shortly after the deal was signed. Logicon in turn paid Oracle $36.5 million and kept the remainder.
Such financing agreements allow vendors to be paid once the contract is signed. Lenders pay out the money knowing the state will make installment payments as called for in the contract.
RUSH A FAVOR TO ORACLE
Davis administration officials have admitted rushing the contract as a negotiating tool -- because Oracle needed to post the new revenue on its books before the end of its 2001 fiscal year on May 31.
In September, the state is scheduled to make the first of five payments to Koch Financial totaling $63.2 million, which includes $10.9 million in interest.
If Koch decides not to help the state, Oracle and Logicon unwind the deal, it could create problems for Davis, who said he is determined to rescind the contract "so the taxpayers don't have to pay one additional penny."
Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio said state finance director Tim Gage has spoken with Koch officials but would not comment on the discussion.
Lockyer's critics weren't placated by the attorney general's decision to return his Oracle contributions.
"It's like unringing the bell," said state Sen. Dick Ackerman, Lockyer's GOP opponent in the fall election. "You can't do that."
Republicans, who are in the minority on the legislative committee looking into the Oracle deal, persuaded the chairman to reschedule forthcoming witnesses so they could better prepare for the hearing.
Next week's hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, and another hearing with key Davis aides, including Davis cabinet secretary Susan Kennedy, will be delayed until the following week.
E-mail the reporters at pfeist@sfchronicle.com and lgledhill@sfchronicle.com ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle Page A - 1
Nice to see this in the Chronicle. Methinks there will be more to come with next week's hearings. My hope of hopes is that Grayout knew about the contract surfaces...
JUST DON'T ASK ME TO RETURN MY HARD EARNED BRIBES FROM WHOREACLE/LOGICON!
The only problem, when your political "in" becomes an "out", your corporation may just go belly up.
Whoreacle lost its "In" with the Clintoon and Jake Reno, the moment GW became president. Now, they have lost their "in" with Lockyer and Benito Davis! Expect to read similiar stories in other states re Whoreacle investing in politicians for big profits.
Polling results are a little slow coming in!!!
 calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register |
Even the San Francisco Chronically Wronicle is forced to write about this! Wow!See also an earlier article (with fewere details) about this:Will the Left Angeles Times be next??? Nah...
HUGH HEWITT SHOW -- Calif. Attorney Gen'l Returns Oracle Contribution (Reuters)
Reuters | 5-8-02 | Reuters
Posted on 5/8/02 6:58 PM Pacific by doug from upland
"...State auditors say the no-bid contract--touted by Oracle and its business partner, Logicon, as a way to save the state more than $100million over 10 years--could cost the state $6 million to $41 million more than it would spend otherwise..."Thanks for YOUR spin, L.A. Times!"...Republican candidate for governor Bill Simon Jr. has made an issue of the $25,000 donation Oracle gave Gov. Gray Davis several days after the contract was signed..."
This policy of removing even the "slightest appearance" of a conflict of interest must have been implemented AFTER the "Spike" incident..."Attorney General Bill Lockyer returned $50,000 in campaign contributions from Oracle on Wednesday, saying he wanted to remove even the "slightest appearance" of a conflict of interest as he probes a state contracting scandal involving the software giant..."
From http://www.pacificresearch.org/pub/cap/2001/01-06-13.html:Vol. 6, No. 21: June 13, 2001
The Energy Crisis, Spike the Tattooed Dude,
and the Case for the Resignation of Bill Lockyer
SACRAMENTO – Bill Lockyer, California’s Attorney General, is an authoritarian thug who should resign. That’s the view of Tom Palmer, a senior fellow of the Cato Institute, based on a statement Lockyer made in a press conference about Kenneth Lay, chairman of Enron Corporation.“I would love to personally escort Lay to an 8-by-10 cell that he could share with a tattooed dude who says ‘Hi, my name is Spike, honey,’” Lockyer said.
Palmer is one of the few to consider the serious implications of that statement. The Attorney General of California is the chief law enforcement official of the most populous state. But as holder of that office, Mr. Lockyer, “not only has admitted that rape is a regular feature of the state’s prison system, but also that he considers rape a part of the punishment he can inflict on others.” What if, Palmer speculates, the head of Enron were female?
Further, Palmer says, “he has publicly stated that he would like to personally arrange the rape of a Texas businessman who has not even been charged with any illegal behavior.” This leads Palmer to conclude that Lockyer is “an authoritarian thug, someone wholly unsuited to holding an office of public trust.”
Lockyer, who sponsored California’s hate-crimes law, singled out Mr. Lay because he is the chairman of a Texas-based company that is the world’s largest energy trader. Apparently, this justifies the appalling threats Lockyer made.
The Attorney General’s statements, says Palmer, reveal what imprisonment really entails in California. But they also symbolize the response of the Davis Administration to the energy crisis.
“Lockyer and Gov. Gray Davis,” says Palmer, “seem to think that the best way to keep the lights on is to threaten electricity producers with brute force, rather than offer to pay competitive rates in competitive markets. Are energy producers to blame for California’s energy problems? No. Bad policies, including rigid controls on retail prices of electricity, are the cause of the problem, not the people who generate energy.”True to form, other leading Democrats, such as Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, want to prosecute energy producers under California’s “three-strikes” laws, intended for violent criminals. The Davis Administration views the crisis as entirely due to “price gouging” by Texas energy companies. The approach Attorney General Lockyer is taking, however, is not new, notes Palmer.
“Scapegoating producers and threatening them with violence is an old ploy of authoritarians. Californians should not stand for it.” Palmer, therefore, concludes: “Lockyer’s remarks merit public disgrace and removal from office. After all, rape is not a form of legal justice in America, is it?”
It is of some significance that criminal lobbies such as the ACLU and prisoner-rights groups let the Attorney General’s statement pass without comment. So did editorial writers at major papers around the state, including the Sacramento Bee, a kind of Democratic Party newsletter. At this writing, Mr. Lockyer is still in office and has yet to publish a response. When he does, we will cite it extensively in this column.
– Lloyd Billingsley
Hmmmm... I seem to remember a SIMILAR case that happened recently, where an Attorney General had taken campaign donations from a corporation that he was charged with investigating, and in that case, HE recused himself - to avoid the appearance of impropriety...
From http://www.opensecrets.org/alerts/v6/alertv6_36.asp:
There would therefore SEEM to be a precedent, but perhaps it only applies to Attorneys General with CHARACTER.January 10, 2002 - Attorney General John Ashcroft, who announced today that he will recuse himself from the Justice Department’s criminal probe of fallen energy giant Enron, raised a total of $57,499 from the company for his failed 2000 Senate campaign. Nearly half of that total -- $25,000 – was given by Enron CEO Kenneth Lay to Ashcroft’s joint fund fundraising committee in the form of soft money. The Ashcroft Victory Committee also raised another $25,000 in soft money directly from Enron Corp., bringing the committee’s total take from Enron to $50,000...
The Clintoons for about 8 years supposedly returned campaign money and gifts when caught in something illegal or just stinky. I doubt if any of that money was ever returned.
When do leftwing liberals like Lockyer lie to us!
From my POV out here in flyover?
Really quite clear & very simple, indeed.
It was -- & correct me if I'm wrong -- The PEOPLE of the state of CA who wanted and then elected, this baffoon, to be their Gov.
They got'em, too; in spades.
And for Heaven's sake!
Don'tcha be discounting y'all getting another term of this thieving-weasel, either!!
HA!
Why that screwed-up Lamestream dream-spin machine's at work 24&7 on the guy's behalf to deflect, obfuscate, redirect & redefine everything the imbecile goofed up -- or caught red-handed doing -- during his first go-around.
Before they're finished -- and, they've not eeeeeven begun yet -- this one may very well turn out to be a potential Democratic candidate for POTUS!!
You'll know that though, when you start hearing all kinds of talk about 'em erecting a statue of the clown at the capitol, in Sacramento.
Yea, to celebrate his, "Tremendous Accomplishments" during his terms as CA's political CEO??
That's not me talking, either; what that is though, is a plain, ol' fact of life in 2002.
So I repeat; don't laugh too hard, quite yet.
...or methinks you'd be failing to recognize the sheer depth of stupidity many of your CA neighbors possess.
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