Bush's First Crime Solved

[babylonsister]

Bush's First Crime Solved
by Russ Wellen | Jul 29 2007


"In the corporate world, some things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures."
-- George W. Bush

The reluctance of Congressional Democratic leaders to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Bush may be frustrating. But there's an upside. For anyone seeking to file charges against Bush in lieu of impeachment, it relieves the urgency and buys time to make their case that much more airtight. Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform alone is conducting 20 investigations.

We're also afforded the opportunity to arrange his crimes in chronological order, starting with the first. Remember Harken Energy Corporation and the charge that Bush used insider knowledge to make almost $850,000 selling his stock in the company?

Harken, on whose board Bush sat, was a Texas oil company engaging in oil and gas exploration, development and production. It's still in existence, but on June 6 it changed its name to HKN, Inc. It actually showed a profit at the end of the first quarter this year, as opposed to last. Yet it still felt compelled to announce a reverse stock split, which is considered either a gimmick to make a stock look more attractive to investors or a red flag that it's about to take a dive.

To refresh your memory, Harken's difficulties were more pronounced in 1990, when it was hoping for one last strike in Texas before the state was tapped out. As soon as Bush joined the board, another company came to its aid -- Harvard Management ("Harvard"). Why Harvard?

Not only had Bush obtained his MBA from Harvard, but a former Harken chairman of the board was also a Harvard alumni, while two Harvard Management Company officers owned substantial amounts of Harken stock. Besides, as a not-for-profit organization, Harvard had no shareholders to whom the principals need answer for questionable transactions.

As if that weren't enough, in November 1990, Harken formed an off-the-books partnership with Harvard in order to move debt and poorly performing assets off its books and onto those of Harvard. This helped disguise how much of a risk investing in Harken had become.

more...

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/9027

[Demeter]

1. Enron Accounting Is a Harvard Development?

[EST]

2. I thought his first crimes included military desertion, DUIs that were

cleaned off the books via status and privilege, drug arrests with private deals made to keep them out of the public eye, facilitating and paying for an abortion before it was legal, and many, many others that were so thoroughly cleaned up that all that remains of them are stink and rumors...plus a couple of possible dead bodies along the way.

I'm not being critical of the OP at all, just seizing the opportunity to smear and paint junior with some of his own shit. Had it been composted the way normal people have to do, the shit would not still be lying around, fresh, to rub behind his ears.

[grasswire]

3. that was my reaction, too

And God only knows how many crimes were committed that we've never heard of, while he was "coming up."

[Frustratedlady]

4. Well, maybe the others couldn't be proved, because they were so well hidden.

I agree that the kid has had a lot of people working to hide his horrors. However, too many people call those youthful indiscretions and overlook them. Not me, but just sayin'!

I think someone should be sure KO, Cafferty and Anderson Cooper, et al., have the opportunity to see this article. DU is so good at sharing. :patriot: :popcorn:

[EST]

6. I am a contemporary of bush's.

I had a very straight-laced upbringing, of which I was justifiably proud. Hell, I was still a virgin (in deed, if not in thought) when I got married at 21.
If I had done anything at all like the things he did, provably, as well as was reported to have done, I would have been consigned to reform school and then have been put under the jail.
He was reported to have been caught importing cocaine, for which he had to do some community service so they would cover it up and make it go away, for which I would have scored a twenty year prison sentence, if not life.

[grasswire]

5. there was another Bush-Harvard dealing

I can't recall the details, but it had something to do with Florida.

Joe Conason wrote about the Harken mess. It had to do with Harvard and the stinko mess Bush made of the University of Texas endowment. While governor, he privatized the endowment, which made its dealings off the public record. The whole endowment flowed into the stinky dealings.

Read about that here: http://skeptically.org/curpol/id16.html

You'll be astounded at the depth of corruption.