-Caveat Lector- http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/front/1631714
Oct. 24, 2002, 5:27PM Cheney, Halliburton face deadline today on suit Associated Press SEE IT NOW Dick Cheney Video � Cheney extols virtues of Andersen, 1996 Other � Judicial Watch's official complaint � Halliburton's denial of accusations � Vice President Cheney online � Brief Cheney biography Video courtesy The AP; (Free Real Player required) DALLAS - Vice President Dick Cheney and his former employer, Halliburton Co., face a deadline today to respond to a lawsuit charging them with accounting fraud that cost shareholders millions of dollars. In a lawsuit filed in July, self-described government watchdog group Judicial Watch accused Halliburton of using a change in accounting practices to overstate revenue by $445 million from 1999 through 2001. Cheney was chairman and chief executive of the oilfield-services and construction company from 1995 to mid-2000. Halliburton and Cheney were scheduled to file responses to the lawsuit in federal district court in Dallas. A Halliburton spokeswoman said this morning that the company had not yet filed its response but would meet the deadline. This morning, more than 200 protesters jammed the lobby of a downtown Dallas building housing Halliburton headquarters and protested Bush administration policies they said favor the rich. Seth Borgos, a spokesman for the National Campaign for Jobs and Income Support, a Washington-based coalition of anti-poverty groups, said the protesters would travel to Bush's ranch in Crawford, 90 miles to the south, and demand an economic summit on working families. The protesters, who also demanded a meeting with current Halliburton chairman and chief executive David J. Lesar, were denied access to Halliburton offices and left peacefully after police showed up 20 minutes later. In a statement, Halliburton said the protest was triggered by "certain political agendas." "This is about politics," the Halliburton statement continued. "Our company has the highest standards, and above all else -- a commitment to ethics." The Judicial Watch lawsuit focuses on a change in Halliburton's method of accounting for revenue on large construction projects. Beginning in 1998, Halliburton counted some of the cost overruns on large projects as revenue, even though customers sometimes disputed the costs. Halliburton announced in May that the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into the accounting change and whether the company adequately disclosed the practice to investors. The 1998 change was disclosed in a footnote to Halliburton's 1999 annual report, which was filed in March 2000. Halliburton's Web site says Halliburton followed established accounting guidelines, and that clients had signed "cost-plus" contracts because cost changes are common in large construction projects. The Judicial Watch lawsuit was filed on behalf of shareholders Stephen S. Stephens of Indiana, and Lyle and Deanna J. Lionbarger of New Mexico. It does not specify their hometowns or the number of shares they hold. The suit named Halliburton, Cheney and accounting firm Andersen Worldwide and Arthur Andersen LLP as defendants. Lesar and 12 other Halliburton board members and Terrence Edward Hatchett, Arthur Andersen's former managing partner for North America, also were named. Judicial Watch has also sued for access to records of the Cheney-led energy task force that drafted the Bush administration's energy policy, and filed dozens of lawsuits against the Clinton administration. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http://archive.jab.org/ctrl@;listserv.aol.com/ <A HREF="http://archive.jab.org/ctrl@;listserv.aol.com/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
