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THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED
STATES MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release:
Tuesday, July 9, 2002
Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com
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On the eve of the party's
Midterm Convention (July 18-21 in Philadelphia), Greens warn of
damage to rights, security, and the economy in Bush's protection of
corporate and government criminals
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Greens cite Enron abuses
in Harken and Halliburton, rollback of 'Whistleblower' protection,
and noncompliance with the International Criminal Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As Greens
prepare for the Midterm Convention of the Green Party of the United
States, party candidates and activists are calling on Americans to hold
the Bush Administration responsible for coddling corporate criminal
activity and governmental malfeasance.
"With George W. Bush in
the White House, our federal government is fast becoming a gangster
operation, as all sorts of criminal behavior go uninvestigated and
unpunished," said David Cobb, Green candidate for Texas Attorney
General.
"Even in the case of
Enron, which is now in court, the links of corporate criminals to the
Bush and Clinton Administrations and to both Democrats and Republicans
in Congress have evaded investigation. If I am elected, my first act
will be to haul the officers and directors of Enron before a grand jury
to face criminal indictment."
Greens urge American voters
and the media to hold President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
directly responsible for relaxed law enforcement, corporate cover-ups,
and secret government policies and operations:
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The sale of Harken stock
by former executive George W. Bush, who cashed in to the tune of
$848,560 just before the stock price fell drastically and Harken
reported a $23 million loss, is in every way comparable to the
actions of Enron executives who dumped their shares just before
their value plummeted. In both cases, wealthy corporate execs made a
killing, while smaller investors and employees lost their savings.
"Before we believe Bush's flimsy excuses about failing to
disclose his huge stock sale to the Security and Exchange Commission
in a timely manner, we need an independent investigation -- just as
we need one for the Enron scandal, for WorldCom, and other
corporations that exercise enormous influence over both Democrats
and Republicans," said Linda Schade, Green candidate for the
Maryland State House of Delegates, District 20.
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Halliburton Inc. faces
seven lawsuits on behalf of investors claiming violations of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The lawsuits cite fraud by
Halliburton for false and misleading statements to the market, and
for reporting fraudulent revenues of $98 million for Fiscal Year
1999 and $113 million for FY 2000 -- when Dick Cheney was CEO. Also,
the Financial Times of London has reported that between September
1998 and early 2000, CEO Cheney oversaw $23.8 million in deals for
the sale of oil-industry equipment and services to Saddam Hussein,
thanks to legal loopholes in US sanctions against Iraq. The
contracts were negotiated through Halliburton subsidiaries Dresser
Rand and Ingersoll-Dresser Pump.
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A provision in the bill to
President Bush's proposed Homeland Security Department will exempt
its employees from the Whistleblower Protection Act, preventing the
exposure of intelligence errors that led up to September 11.
Homeland Security personnel would escape accountability for the kind
of mismanagement that FBI agent Colleen Rowley revealed, since
employees with evidence of wrongdoing would face harassment and loss
of their jobs.
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President Bush asserts (as
did President Clinton) that the US will not participate or comply
with the International Criminal Court. Congress and the White House
reacted hysterically to the establishment of the ICC, vetoing
further UN operations in Bosnia. US officials have threatened to
send in US forces to rescue any American soldiers held at ICC
headquarters in the Hague, in the name of US sovereignty and fear
over anti-American sentiment around the world.
"The President's refusal
to cooperate with international law is notorious -- and
inconsistent," said Dr. Jonathan Farley, a congressional candidate
in Tennessee. "While NAFTA and other free trade pacts
allow secret international authorities to override US labor, human
rights, and environmental laws on behalf of powerful corporations,
neither Bush nor Congress will allow an open international court to hold
any US official responsible for war crimes, genocide, or serious human
rights abuses. It shows that Democrats and Republicans alike fear
international cooperation that's based on justice rather than on
military or economic power."
The Green Party of the United
States will hold its Midterm Convention in Philadelphia from July 18-21
at the Holiday Inn, a few blocks from the historic sites of one of
America's early capitols. The Green Party will also hold a large
political rally on Friday night, July 19, at the Irvine Auditorium,
featuring 2000 Presidential candidate Ralph Nader, 2000 California
Senatorial candidate Medea Benjamin, and Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney.
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
National office: 1314 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Convention information
http://www.gp.org/convention.html
Journalists may apply for Press Credentials with this application: http://www.gp.org/documents/credentials3.pdf
Index of Green Party candidates in 2002
http://www.gp.org/patience.html
search:
cpr, lwcj, evpol, regpol
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