Vice President Cheney’s Halliburton
By on Oct 11th, 2005 at 6:41 pm
Vice President Cheney’s Halliburton
stock options, worth $241,498 a year ago, are now valued at more than $8 million. That’s a 3,281% gain.
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Bush
Business
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Education
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Global Warming
Health Care
Immigration
International Relations
Iraq
Justice
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
McCain
Media
Military
O'Reilly
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Politics
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Steele
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Technology
Terrorism
Veterans
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
Not surprising. Isn’t that the republicant mantra, “I got mine, screw everyone else”.
October 11th, 2005 at 6:46 pmGee I guess I should have invested in the crooks.
October 11th, 2005 at 6:49 pmDo they have a “crooked republican crony” index
fund? I would hate to put all my eggs in one crooked
basket.
Gee, Cheney claims he “took a bath” when he had to divest himself of Halliburton when he went into office.
October 11th, 2005 at 7:03 pmThose defense contracts proved to be pretty good for the lying weasel didn’t they?
i dont get it–read the article. it says in 2003 he did an interview saying he had NO financial interests in the company. that was a bald-face lie. complete lie. why does no one call him on this?
October 11th, 2005 at 7:05 pmSo this is where the surplus goes!
October 11th, 2005 at 7:11 pmDid Dick Cheney have some information most people did not have? “Probably.”
October 11th, 2005 at 7:13 pmPunchy, you ask a legitimate question, but the answer is that the Republican Congress is the only body with the power to “call him on it”, I believe. Clearly he is a lying scumbag, was in 2000 as well.
October 11th, 2005 at 7:19 pmMr Cheney’s fingerprints are all OVER the recent surge in energy prices. It’s that Energy Policy he has fought tooth and nail to conceal, cause us knuckleheads in the prattling masses “don’t get it”. When we don’t see this His Profane Highness in the public eye, you can bet that he is busily ensconcing the “engine of the American economy” (read: the hot pockets of his ilk in the driver’s seat of Amurican Big Business) in the safe, unregulated, untaxed embrace of Corporate America. Nice, huh? Think Mom and Pop in Red State Land understand this? They gonna NEED to understand it, to turn the Worm…
October 11th, 2005 at 7:23 pmOff topic but fun…..
Texas Congressman Kevin Brady Arrested
(AP) – DALLAS-U.S. Rep Kevin Brady was arrested and charged with driving under the influence while in South Dakota, according to a published report.
The Texas Republican was pulled over by a state trooper Friday night for a problem with the tail lights of his vehicle, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Authorities were waiting for results of a blood test to determine Brady’s blood-alcohol level at the time of the arrest. The legal limit in South Dakota is 0.08.
If convicted of the misdemeanor charge, Brady faces up to $1,000 fine and a year in jail, Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe said.
Brady was in East Texas on Monday and could not be reached for comment, spokeswoman Sarah Stephens told the newspaper.
It was homecoming weekend at the University of South Dakota, so officers were on the alert for driving violations including manning sobriety checkpoints.
Brady, 50, is a graduate of the University of South Dakota.
October 11th, 2005 at 7:23 pmCheney is still and has always been a scumbag – but this is beyond the pale. Where are all those idiots who voted for this bunch based on “values”???? How may Americans earn that much money in their entire lives, let alone in a single year??? Did those voters get full “value” for their vote? The Roman Empire didn’t fall this hard. Impeachment is too good for these assholes – while the rest of the world goes without – jobs, insurance, food, clean water, clean air, people have lost their lives in this farce of a war that LINED THE POCKETS OF THESE SCUM – Cheney and his bunch laugh all the way to the bank. More than impeachment is required for justice. Way more… This is adding insult to injury and I am so disgusted and enraged, I can’t see straight!
October 11th, 2005 at 7:54 pmI believe the Cheney’s assigned their Halliburton stock options over to charity.
October 11th, 2005 at 8:08 pmNo bid contracts for the government with zero accountability will do a lot for the bottom line of a company like Halliburton. Crony capitalism and the banana republicans are doing what they do best – steal…
October 11th, 2005 at 8:15 pmat the bottom of the article it states that the money will be going to charity…great…for that amount, i am concerned about the other big wigs there though.
October 11th, 2005 at 8:28 pmWait til they make the asbestos liability go away.
Too bad he’ll be too dead to enjoy those millions. OTOH, his children will enjoy all the benefits since there won’t be any estate taxes.
October 11th, 2005 at 8:33 pmThis is a bit off topic, but giving me hope:
The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are working on stories that point to Vice President Dick Cheney as the target of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s name.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/10/11/news-orgs-working-on-stor_n_8705.html
October 11th, 2005 at 9:02 pmI wonder what Dick(head) Cheney did with all the kickbacks? What was the last figure of the missing money in Iraq, $8.8 BILLION? Nobody loses almost $9 BILLION! There are people jumping and romping on beds right now covered with that money, swimming in it, rubbing it all over themselves. How much has Dick(head) shifted under the radar to an offshore account? Maybe the Caymans? He doesn’t look much like a skier to me.
Since he blatantly lied about having no financial interest in Halliburton in 2003, are we to assume he hasn’t lied about anything else? Plain and simple, he should be investigated.
October 11th, 2005 at 9:28 pmAnd I’m sure that money will go right to Habitat for Humanity to build homes in the hurricane zone, yes?
October 11th, 2005 at 10:23 pm#11 said “… Impeachment is too good for these assholes – while the rest of the world goes without – jobs, insurance, food, clean water, clean air…”
And don’t forget heat for the winter (whether it’s gas, electric, oil and/or kerosene). Ya think Dickey boy is going to be shriveled and pulled up tighter than a gonad in this winter’s cold? I think not…
October 11th, 2005 at 10:24 pmI’m sure he’s talking to Jimmy Carter right now about how to get involved. Dick(head) Cheney hammering nails for the poor and hurricane victims. With every stroke of the hammer I can imagine him saying, I – hate – Karl – Rove – OW!!! I – hate – Karl – Rove – SHIT! I – hate – Patrick – DAMMIT! – Fitzgerald!! OW – DAMN – OUCH…….!
October 11th, 2005 at 10:28 pmI’m sorry to piss on the parade, but I think the 3281% figure should be retracted. If Cheney’s options were practically worthless 1 year ago, that means their strike price is around $30/share. With today’s closing price on HAL at $61.78, his gain is approximately 100%.
October 11th, 2005 at 10:37 pmlet me make is clear that I AM NOT DEFENDING THE VICE PRESIDENT, but this statement is really thin. I think jwb’s math is closer to accurate and I’d like to see more figures than this wacky estimate. it’s obvious to me that the cheney/halliburton relationship is a conflict worth investigating. I’d love to see dick behind bars in his golden years, unable to spend any of his blood money.
October 11th, 2005 at 11:55 pmThis calls for a reprise of a piece that was overwhelmed by Katrina in its day, but seems to be just as valid now:
“The United States of Halliburton”
Over the weekend (when the Bush Administration is at its most nefarious because most of America is preoccupied with getting drunk at barbeques or running from hurricanes), the Pentagon demoted the Army contracting official who criticized massive, noncompetitive contracts that Halliburton received for the reconstruction of Iraq.
The move demonstrates, to paraphrase the Administration’s tired mantra on fighting terror, that “we will move heaven and earth to find a low-level minion to blame for every gargantuan screw-up we commit…â€
October 12th, 2005 at 12:04 am#21 and #22 – the 3,281% figure is not impossible by any means. If you’ve been schooled in option-pricing theory, you’ll know where I am coming from, but I’ll give you a quick and easy illustration.
Remember that options are not physically settled – i.e. you don’t actually receive delivery of shares if you exercise the option – instead, at settlement, you receive the difference between the strike and the price at which the security is trading. So say the (average) strike price for Cheney’s options is $30… if Halliburton traded at around $31, the options at settlement will be worth $1. With Halliburton at $61 a share now, the options will be worth $31 at settlement.
3,000%+ appreciation in value – no problemo.
[Ps. this is a gross simplification of option pricing, but just wanted to demonstrate the 3,000% appreciation is easily arrived at.]
October 12th, 2005 at 8:22 amno wonder Cheney is probably behind the efforts to discredit anyone who could damage the case for war in Iraq… he stands to gain a lot by keeping the war going… sick mofo
October 12th, 2005 at 9:46 am#25
October 12th, 2005 at 9:54 amBingo.
Cheney, and any company he has ever been associated with, have been gun-runners and war profiteers for at least 30 years.
Cheney, and bush also, are evil incarnate.
October 12th, 2005 at 10:28 amApparently our Congress has no problem with it. Maybe some are saying one thing but voting another. Imagine that.
The Senate voted Friday to give President Bush $50 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. military efforts against terrorism, money that would push total spending for the operations beyond $350 billion.
In a 97-0 vote, the GOP-controlled Senate signed off on the money as part of a $445 billion military spending bill for the budget year that began Oct. 1.
Two years ago the Senate voted 87-12 in favor of an $87 billion supplemental appropriation for security and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of the 12 senators who voted “no” then, nine are still in the Senate, and eight of them voted “yes” on Friday. (Vemont’s Pat Leahy was AWOL.)
October 12th, 2005 at 10:52 amDo we need any further proof that this is a kleptocracy we’re living under? War profiteering is Cheney’s occupation. Wonder if he can spare a couple thousand to help me heat my house this winter.
October 12th, 2005 at 10:59 amHey Mass Lib, you mean like the preceding kleptocracy? How soon one forgets.
During 1996, U.S. policy dramatically changed for the financial and military benefit of China’s military enterprises and two U.S. multinationals, Loral Space and Communications and Hughes Electronics. Loral’s CEO, Bernard Schwartz, was the largest single contributor to the 1994 and 1996 Democratic campaigns, giving $275,000 to the Democrats in 1996.
The U.S. had previously barred all American companies from doing business with China Aerospace because it had made illegal missile sales to Pakistan. Col. Liu was assistant to the president of the sanctioned company and her father, General Liu, was in charge of the Chinese Army when China sold missiles to Iran and nuclear equipment to Pakistan, as well as carried on its own maneuvers to threaten Taiwan.
The Departments of Defense and State maintained that our satellite technology should be on what is known as the “munitions list,” the list of our most sensitive military and intelligence-gathering technology. Defense and State argued that commercial satellites carry technological secrets that can jeopardize “significant military and intelligence interests.”
Over the protests of Defense and State, Clinton personally reversed our policy and transferred jurisdiction over these exports from the State Department to Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. This let the technology transfer go forward and allowed U.S. civilian communications satellites to be launched by Colonel Liu’s China Aerospace.
The chronology is interesting. Clinton’s decision to approve the rocket and satellite technology transfer was announced on March 14, 1996, but the actual change was delayed until the fall. The campaign contributions arrived in the interim.
Another powerful government-owned enterprise that benefited from Clinton’s China policy was China International Trade and Investment Corporation. Clinton signed waivers allowing the Chinese to launch four U.S. satellites on the very day that its chairman, Wang Jan (referred to by the press as a “Chinese arms dealer”), attended one of Clinton’s now-famous campaign coffees in the White House and later spent some time in Ron Brown’s Commerce Department office.
The kind of space technology that Clinton has provided to China is just what it needs to make intercontinental ballistic missiles and point them more accurately at the United States.
October 12th, 2005 at 11:57 amStill not clear on the math. The Raw Story article says that Cheny has 433,333 Halliburton stock options. How is it that these options were only worth $241,498 a year ago (which I assume is the number being used to caluculate the increase in value of over 3000%)?
October 12th, 2005 at 12:08 pm#24: these are incentive stock options. The shares are delivered upon exercise, and the basis price for calculating gain is the strike price. Also, taxes are due at exercise for the value less the basis, regardless if the shares are held or sold.
October 12th, 2005 at 12:42 pm#32 – Take your point on settlement, but on a market value basis, the options are worth a whole lot more than they were a year ago. And Lautenberg’s numbers are perfectly credible, IMO.
October 12th, 2005 at 1:37 pmOff point here, Ben, why would China want to blow us up.? Incase you haven’t noticed we owe them billions, thanks to Bush and his crew. All they have to do is demand payment on the notes or do a little curency exchange and we will be done under. Do’s the word depression sound familier. Get real. We are now a 3rd world country and the Bush gang has run away with all our resorses, leaving the U.S. Of A. debtors to the rest of the world, and polluted beyond repair. We are now a breath away from FUBAR…….Blessings
October 12th, 2005 at 2:37 pm#34 Sharon that was not the point. kleptrocracy…A government characterized by rampant greed and corruption. The previous administration behaved badly for financial reasons also. In fact, they broke the law. As far as China goes I think we have a treaty of some type with Taiwan. Regarding economics China would not make that call for some time since the American consumer is helping to drive their economy as exports grow at 30% annually. As far as debt goes, when our government cuts defense and intelligence budgets drastically for 8 years and claims a great economy is deceptive given the future costs this country is incurring because of the consequences of those decisions. You can choose to not do proper maintenance on anything and enjoy better finances. But when problems manifest themselves the expense usually exceeds the cost of those regular payments.
October 12th, 2005 at 3:25 pmI don’t pretend to know the ins and outs of Clinton’s presidency, nor was I a fan, but, you must admit that if what he did was bad, then this crew must be worse? And, if it WAS so bad, why then didn’t ‘W’ use his ‘mandate’, and his ‘political capital’ to repeal these evil policies, that kept everybody working, and elicited record surpluses. I maintain that Clinton’s policies had nothing to do with the 8 years of peace and prosperity, but rather the fact that all the republican were kept busy, futily and at great expense, attempting to tie him to any scandal that came along, and successfully tying him only to a blowjob from the pizza girl. If ANY of this sh*t went down during Bill’s watch (Rove, Cheney, Frist, Delay..you name it) You’d be calling for his head, but you all give this Draft doging half-wit that ’speaks with Jesus’ a pass. Why?
October 13th, 2005 at 12:26 pmI do not subscribe to giving anyone a pass including Bush. My older brother did 2 years in Nam and I missed it by a year. I remember the time very well. It was so different than today. One of the primary differences was that the threat of Communism to the US was a theory that many did not accept because there had not been an attck against us or allies that had fought along our side in the past. Today, many people are of the opinion that it is a “connect the dots” deal. We were attacked and many Americans died. So now the threat is not a theory and that’s what makes it different. Of course people will insist that Iraq had nothing to do with it. The individuals who did it are not nations but receive support from nations. So to many Americans the ‘fight there not here” policy is one they support. You have to realize that Clinton got away with a lot more than what was revealed. Janet Reno was a very good soldier and excercised her power to interfere with many aspects of investigations that preceded the Lewinsky scandal. It was wrong to pursue that one. But I think the Republicans were so frustrated by his elusiveness that they wanted him to pay for something. They truly hated the guy. Again no one should get a pass.
October 13th, 2005 at 2:47 pm