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Bush Aide, Ethics Agency Differ Over Stock Sale Delay (Update1) By Daniel Goldstein with reporting by John Rega, Bob Gravely and Amy Strahan Butler Washington, June 4 (Bloomberg) -- The White House and the federal Office of Government Ethics differed over what was delaying the sale of stock by President George W. Bush's top political strategist Karl Rove. Rove said he has been waiting months for ethics office approval of a document that would let him avoid capital-gains taxes on his sale of stock in more than two dozen companies that could present a conflict of interest. An ethics office spokesman said today Rove hasn't submitted a request for such a document, called a ``certificate of divestiture,'' which normally takes only a few days to process. Rove's financial disclosure form, which was released by the White House last week, does contain a notation, dated May 18 and initialed by an ethics officer, that states ``all individual stock holdings to be sold.'' Rove said he's been waiting for approval from the ethics office to sell all of his stock holdings, White House spokeswoman Anne Womack said. ``Mr. Rove was willing to divest himself in December, but was advised by the White House counsel's office he should not do so until they reviewed his holdings and determined the best course of action to avoid any conflict of interest,'' White House spokeswoman Anne Womack said. Skipping Some Discussions In the meantime, Rove said he's been skipping discussions that could have a direct impact on his stocks, Womack said. ``He told me, `There have been conversations I just walked away from,''' Womack said. The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Rove said he'd been waiting for several months for ethics office approval to sell his stock holdings and put the proceeds into a diversified account. The ethics office said it's the responsibility of the government official to request a certificate of divestiture. Womack said a draft of Rove's divestiture paperwork was sent in ``mid to late April'' to the Office of Government Ethics, and Rove has yet to receive guidance back from the agency. Rove is ``trying to get this done in a timely way,'' Womack said. ``This is really a paperwork issue at this point.'' The disclosure form shows Rove owning assets valued at from $2.3 million to $5.6 million, based on the broad ranges of values used for such forms. Many of the companies do business with the U.S. government or could be affected by policies emanating from the White House. Biggest Holdings Rove owns between $100,000 and $250,000 of stock in Enron Corp., the biggest energy trader and owner of U.S. interstate pipelines, according to the disclosure form. He has similar amounts of stock in Pfizer Inc., General Electric Co., Boeing Co., Cisco Systems Inc., American Express Co., Sallie Mae, Intel Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., and Johnson & Johnson. He also reported smaller holdings in a dozen other companies and in 10 funds. Since taking office, Rove has seen the value of many of his stocks decline. Enron has fallen about 23 percent since Bush took office in January; American Express has dropped 8 percent; Cisco has slid about 51 percent; and Intel has dipped 15 percent. Boeing shares have climbed about 19 percent since January, while Johnson & Johnson has risen 6 percent. ================================================ http://capitolhillblue.com/Article.asp?ID=1772 Bush aide Karl Rove is one rich dude Tuesday, June 05, 2001 By KEN HERMAN Top administration aide Karl Rove, who helped George W. Bush win the White House and helped Republicans take control of Texas state government, has parlayed his political skill into holdings valued between $2.2 million and $5.5 million, according to a new financial disclosure filing. The report offers the most comprehensive glimpse into the private finances of a man who has had significant input into public policy in Texas and other states in recent years. As a senior adviser to Bush, Rove now has input on a variety of topics. The financial disclosure report requires government employees to list their holdings in broad categories. For example, holdings of $10,000 are listed in a category that covers assets valued at between $1,001 and $15,000. In addition to assets worth between $2.2 million and $5.5 million, Rove also listed liabilities totaling between $350,000 and $750,000, resulting from two mortgages. Rove, top political strategist in Bush's two gubernatorial races and 2000 presidential campaign, is now rearranging his holdings to avoid potential conflicts of interests with his White House responsibilities. His current assets include holdings in several industries that could be affected by White House decisions. Rove listed between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of stock in Enron Corporation, a Houston-based energy firm that has had significant influence in crafting the administration's energy plan. Kenneth Lay, Enron's chairman, is a close friend of Bush's. Lay was a Bush campaign "pioneer," which means he collected more than $100,000 for the GOP candidate's presidential race. Enron was the top political donor among energy companies during the 2000 election cycle, contributing $2.4 million, with 78 percent of it going to Republican candidates and committees. Rove also has substantial holdings (valued between $100,000 and $250,000) in several other companies whose fortunes could be affected by governmental decisions, including American Express, General Electric, Pfizer, Boeing, Johnson and Johnson, and Wells Fargo. The White House's potential impact on those firms caused the general counsel's office to recommend that Rove sell that stock and convert the money into more generalized investments. "It is common practice among people who come into government service," White House spokeswoman Anne Womack said. "The White House counsel's office is working with him and has made recommendations to him as to what he should do with his property. He is taking the steps to sell individual properties to prevent any conflicts of interests." Rove has been a mastermind of the GOP takeover of Texas government during the past 20 years. In 1978, he helped Bill Clements become the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rove's firm worked for a series of GOP candidates who won statewide office. Republicans how hold all elected statewide offices in Texas. Rove sold his firm, which also had represented GOP candidates in other states, as well as several charitable and nonprofit organizations, to become a full-time employee of the Bush presidential campaign. Rove's financial disclosure form shows he was paid $150,000 last year as an employee of the Bush campaign. He collected an additional $8,557 for his work on the transition team after the election. His current government salary has not been disclosed by the White House, which faces a statutory deadline this year for detailing its payroll. |
