Perino Spins Administration Knowledge Of Bush Donor’s Oil Deal, Dismisses The Contacts As ‘Routine’
Perino Spins Administration Knowledge Of Bush Donor’s Oil Deal, Dismisses The Contacts As ‘Routine’
Yesterday, the House Oversight Committee released documents revealing that the Bush administration knew in advance that a major Bush donor’s oil company, Hunt Oil, was trying to sign a contract with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to develop oil fields in the Kurdish region of Iraq in 2007. At the time, the State Department claimed it had “actively warned Hunt Oil” against the deal and President Bush said he “knew nothing about the deal.”
In the White House press briefing today, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino tried to spin the dissonance between the administration’s 2007 public comments and the documents released yesterday:
QUESTION: Who in the White House was aware of the negotiations between the Hunt Oil Company and the Kurdistan government?
PERINO: As far as I know, I don’t know of anybody who was aware of it, as we had said before. But the State Department had said that they had been aware of it and they had raised questions about it, and that’s what they’re maintaining today. So I don’t know of anybody in the White House who was aware of it.
Watch it:
Perino’s description of what happened in Sept. 2007 is selective and misleading. According to the documents released by the Oversight Committee, it actually appears that “State Department officials raised no objections to the contract.”
Three days before the oil deal was signed, Hunt’s general manager informed the State Department’s Regional Reconstruction Team that “Hunt is expecting to sign an exploration contract.” According to the general manager, no State Department officials said Hunt should “not pursue” the contract:
There was no communication to me or in my presence made by any of the 9 state department officials with whom I met prior to 8 September that Hunt should not pursue our course of action leading to a contract. In fact there was ample opportunity to do so, but it did not happen.
Unprompted, Perino brought up Hunt Oil CEO Ray Hunt’s letter to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, informing them that “he would be traveling overseas.” She dismissed it as “routine.”
But Perino neglected to mention that more than a month before he informed the board of his travel plans, he sent a separate letter “making clear his intentions to pursue oil exploration in Kurdistan.”
Transcript:
QUESTION: Who in the White House was aware of the negotiations between the Hunt Oil Company and the Kurdistan government?
PERINO: As far as I know, I don’t know of anybody who was aware of it, as we had said before. But the State Department had said that they had been aware of it and they had raised questions about it, and that’s what they’re maintaining today. So I don’t know of anybody in the White House who was aware of it.
QUESTION: Is it unusual that somebody in the State Department wouldn’t have told someone in the White House that this was going on, since this ran contrary to administration policy?
PERINO: I’m not sure. And I think a lot of the conversations actually happened in Iraq, and so I’m not sure how all that happened. So I’d refer you over there.
I think one of the things that — one of the questions has been that there was notification by Mr. Hunt that he would be traveling overseas. Just want to make sure something’s very clear on that. It is the law and it is routine and it is required that any member of the PFIAB board, if they’re going to be traveling overseas, send a letter notifying that they will be doing so. So that suggestion that that letter is suspicious is, I think, just headed in the wrong direction.
QUESTION: And the notification went to State, not — didn’t come here or…
PERINO: It goes to the PFIAB, but that doesn’t necessarily — I don’t know what’s in the letter, but I don’t think it had anything to do with substance of the travel.
QUESTION: It just says, I’m traveling abroad ?
PERINO: Yes. You have to list where you’re going.
QUESTION: And it didn’t raise any flags when he said, I’m going to Iraq ?
PERINO: Not that I’m aware of, and, again, it’s the PFIAB, and I don’t know who all saw — who all would have seen it at that time.
So I’d refer you to the State Department, because they had said that they had had the contacts beforehand, and that’s what they’re maintaining today. I don’t know of anybody else in the White House who would have known about the letters. QUESTION: And if you’d talk — and you probably discussed in the gaggle a little bit — but on camera if you could talk a little bit about when the president was first informed that there was some intelligence that maybe would lead to this Colombian rescue mission. How early was he looped in? How involved was the president? Just kind of broadly speaking.
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Sadly, exploiting their power and influence for their cronies’ profits is ‘routine’ for this White House…
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:06 pmWhy do we even bother with this shit?
Instead of expending our effort in a big circle jerk in commenting on useless crap like this we should be exploring ways to unite our efforts in getting rid of these outlandish bastards. We have until November to join forces and rid this country of the greatest pestilence since the great locust invasion. Quit complaining about how bad it is and help change the situation. Don’t tell me it can”t be done, damn it, just help me get it done!
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:09 pmBeat me to it, belac. Dana Purgeryino is correct: this sort of cronyism is routine in the White House under Bush/Cheney.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:11 pm#4 flagged for link to pornography. Mayb this is routine for them.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:29 pmOh, Miss Dana, do you mean another “routine” Bush lie? Since Bush has been in office about twenty-seven hundred days, and with about three lies per day (”conservatively” estimating), his total number of lies would now be about 8,100…
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:30 pmStill not covering the Obama Carter flip flop on Iraq are you!!
You libs sure were conned!!
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:44 pmAhhhh, Welcome back Mr.P, or Trajan or whoever you are these days. Whats the matter. That trash website of yours (Think Progress Watch) not getting any traffic these days, JK? What a surprise, NOT!
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:55 pmSpeaking of Carter….what an awesome President. The man wears a sweater during the oil crisis and asks all of his fellow Americans to try and do something about it personally. Then we have Bush who during an economic crisis goes on a “farewell tour” and then comes home and watches a Little League baseball game for fun shits and giggles….
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:00 pmI guess what gives me hope is that even though the Bush administration is clearly corrupt, and will for the most part get away with it, at least I can still say as much on a blog without getting arrested.
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:02 pmDel, With the FISA debacle and more domestic spying you better wait until 21 Jan 2009, and hope McCain is not elected before feeling too safe.
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:13 pmUnprompted, Perino brought up Hunt Oil CEO Ray Hunt’s letter to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, informing them that “he would be traveling overseas.” She dismissed it as “routine.”
Well, corruption is routine in this administration.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 pm#2 Crusty Old Bastard Says:
Why do we even bother with this shit?
Instead of expending our effort in a big circle jerk in commenting on useless crap like this we should be exploring ways to unite our efforts in getting rid of these outlandish bastards. We have until November to join forces and rid this country of the greatest pestilence since the great locust invasion. Quit complaining about how bad it is and help change the situation. Don’t tell me it can”t be done, damn it, just help me get it done!
Good Evening Crusty Old Bastard :)
There are alot of excellent grass-root organizations doing just that. Some are going after Hoyer & Pelosi; if they have enough money they are going to go after as many other bad dems as they can. They are trying to replace them with better or more progressive democrats. Here is one of themhttp://www.actblue.com/, they are teaming up with another organization to run full page ads against Hoyer that should be coming out very soon.
I completely agree with you, there is alot of work to be done to get many of them replaced in the Senate. Alot of effort is being made to get some of the red states to turn blue this November. A very encouraging sign is that every Senate seat this year has gone to a Democrat, some were in very red districts. Those are very positive gains. But we have to get rid of some of the corrupt Senate also if we hope to go after the Bush administration in the future.
Great Post as always :)
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:49 pm“But the State Department had said that they had been aware of it and they had raised questions about it, and that’s what they’re maintaining today. So I don’t know of anybody in the White House who was aware of it.”
Aren’t the Cabinet Secretaries supposed to keep the President at whose pleasure they serve informed about these sorts of things? Is anyone controlling them?
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:07 pmI’m just curious why they even bother. After Scotty’s revelations, Perino’s credibility as a flack is nil, and she must know it.
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 pmMore deliberate deceptions, miss perino? but then, what else could we expect, the truth is too incriminating, and we would probably have to listen to why pres GW does not have to respond to subpoena. this is just another insult to the American people’s intelligence, and a deep disrespect!
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:59 pmobama ‘08
The troll is desperate to get some traction, so it has started writing in all bold characters. Good luck with that, troll.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 pmI would love to know what part of the slimy repugs’ lies Sen. Obama believes?
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:36 pmShorter Perino (and John Kerry): Derpa, derpa, derpa…
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:44 pm“Dana, Scott McClellan has said that he stood where you are standing and lied, he says unknowingly, but nonetheless lied. Can you prove you aren’t lying or are being lied to about this, or anything?” Now, this reporter would never see the inside of the press room again, but, boy I’d like to hear that exchange.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:53 pmYup, the Carlyle cartel, raping the taxpyer. Business as usual.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:35 amFor the past 8 years, it’s been all about Bush and his Texas cronies. Nearly everybody in his cabinet is/was from Texas. Rice, Rove, Gonzales, Bartlett, Card, McClellan, all from Texas. His first choice to replace O’Connor on the Supreme Court was a Texas crony Harriet Miers. Even Cheney had to pretend to move back to Wyoming from Houston only a few days before the election because it’s illegal for the president and VP to be from the same state.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:44 amThe architect of the deregulation that led to the sub-prime disaster, Phil Gramm is from Texas. Tom Hammer DeLay is from Texas.
Bush Texas Pioneer Hunt gets dibs on the oil. Who’s surprised?
What’s up that state?
.
R E M E M B E R:
Barbie Perino gets paid to CBA(cover Bush A$$)
.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:51 amJohn Kerry is a goof…
July 4th, 2008 at 1:26 amAh, yes; the quirky billionaire Hunt family - John Birch Council Member, funders of the Xian Broadcasting Network, the Moral Majority, Campus Crusade for Christ, and the International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics - gute kleine Nazischweine, every one. Racist bastards hiding behind Christ, united behind the Cheney Reich.
These are the same cretins who tried to corner the silver market in ‘79, throwing the commodity markets into chaos. Carter sorta screwed them royally, maybe that’s why our village idiot above is so peeved; then again, his/her frothing instability is probably genetic, as the Hunt family itself so ably demonstrates.
July 4th, 2008 at 1:37 amrepugs are the things that tax the hell out ya, stack the books against ya and steal everything that’s good and right and make it red (blood), white (fear) and blue (us) all with a silly stupidass shitty grin.
When I was in 5th grade I remember learning about the USSR and thinking how could anyone live under thoes conditions. The proproganda, the lies, the ______ lines, the poor vs. the rich. I couldn’t live like that. (Well not for too long)
repug logic: nosirree Blacks weren’t lynched in the USA, it’s called suicide by kkk. Dumbasses.
Don’t believe your lying eyes.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:09 amGeorgie Girl didn’t know about the Bay of Pigs either. Wonder if she graduated 4th from last in her class like John McCain.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:53 amJohn Kerry said:
Still not covering the Obama Carter flip flop on Iraq are you!!
You libs sure were conned!!
What makes you think that all “libs” support Obama? Unlike you “cons,” we don’t all march in lockstep behind one person.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
July 4th, 2008 at 10:56 amCan you imagine a job where you have to go in front of the country day after day and lie through your teeth? I can’t imagine how a job like that wouldn’t eat away at your soul, assuming you have one.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:18 amTo quote Dana Perino:
As far as I know, I don’t know
July 4th, 2008 at 12:08 pmSo I don’t know
I’m not sure
so I’m not sure
I don’t know
I don’t think
I don’t know
I don’t know
What will little miss Purina have to say about this (from DU)
Leaders of the Colombian FARC rebel movement were paid millions of dollars to free Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, Swiss radio said on Friday, quoting “a reliable source”.
The 15 hostages released on Wednesday by the Colombian army “were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up,” the radio’s French-language channel said.
Saying the United States, which had three of its citizens among those freed, was behind the deal, it put the price of the ransom at some $20 million.
The radio said its source was “close to the events, reliable and tested many times in recent years.”
The report added said the wife of one of the hostages’ guards was the go-between, having been arrested by the Colombian army. She was released to return to the guerrillas, where she persuaded her husband to change sides.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:50 pmUnfortunately, I find myself agreeing with Perino.
The dealings were routine as in the last 8 years, such corrupt actions have become routine. So routine that this one doesn’t even rise to anywhere near the top of the list.
July 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pmHunt gives $35 MILLION to the Bush Lieberry and gets a little “grease” . . . what’s the problem? Can’ya guy get a decent return on a frickin’ investment without the libruals gettin’ pissed??? Times ARE hard, the Market is down . . .
July 4th, 2008 at 6:54 pmShe really should be ashamed of herself.
July 6th, 2008 at 7:25 pmt is not just about the offshores oil drilling but how about build more refineries. Easy math is to look at 30 years ago and we have same number of refineries but the number of cars increased almost 4 times. Why do we have to spend money to the Middle East and let your own children starving when you have both the resources and capability to do so? Are you waiting to see the gasoline price reach $10 per gallon before doing something about it?
July 7th, 2008 at 4:02 amwell as i watch the news about oil crisis, i wouldn’t know the first thing about all this hoopla as i am just a biker chick, and usually get everything for free but i found this poll thing of sorts at pollcash and it is interesting how they forming an unofficial debate/poll of sorts about this whole oil drilling thing. anywho, this is what it says in the headline:
“Barack Obama and John McCain have made recent statements on US offshore oil drilling while on the US presidential campaign trail. Listen to…” read the whole story here