Bush Gov't involved in Sex and Drugs and Oil and Roll: UPDATED
By John Amato Tuesday Sep 09, 2008 6:45pmGovernment officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties partied, had sex with and accepted golf and ski outings from employees of energy companies they were dealing with, federal investigators said Wednesday.
The alleged transgressions involve 13 former and current Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington. Their alleged improprieties include rigging contracts, working part-time as private oil consultants, and having sexual relationships with - and accepting golf and ski trips and dinners from - oil company employees, according to three reports released Wednesday by the Interior Department's inspector general.
The investigations reveal a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" by a small group of individuals "wholly lacking in acceptance of or adherence to government ethical standards," wrote Inspector General Earl E. Devaney, whose office spent more than two years and $5.3 million on the investigation. "Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length," Devaney said.
The reports describe a fraternity house atmosphere inside the Denver Minerals Management Service office responsible for marketing oil and natural gas that energy companies barter to the government in lieu of cash royalty payments for drilling on federal lands. The government received $4.3 billion in such royalty-in-kind payments last year. The oil and gas is then resold to energy companies or put in the nation's emergency stockpile. ...read on
UPDATED: Charlie Savage has much more at the NY Times.
In three reports delivered to Congress on Wednesday, the department's inspector general, Earl E. Devaney, found wrongdoing by a dozen current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, which collects about $10 billion in royalties annually and is one of the government's largest sources of revenue other than taxes. "A culture of ethical failure" besets the agency, Mr. Devaney wrote in a cover memo.
The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration's watch. The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration's watch...read on
(h/t Murray W)
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Frist!!!
to paraphrase captain louis renault, "i'm shocked – shocked – to find out there's fucking going on in this establishment!"
Another sex scandal involving oil executives? Say it aint so! I wonder how many are gun toting Republican family men?
Yeah, all those cree-yist-yin Republicans believe in the hereafter. That's what they're here after.
BUSCHed again!
Wow! I'd be shocked if we hadn't already seen so much of this greed and avarice. WTF has gotten into these people?! How the hell do they continue with their day-to-day lives and responsibilities?? Obviously there's no such thing as shame or doing the right thing for these people. Pathetic!!!
I'm so...so...so......not shocked.
off topic but... today in NH Biden himself said Hilldog would have been a better VP pick.
what the hell is going on?!
Ha ha ha ha ha!
Love the timing. Hah.
I'm sure somehow this is all the Democrats fault.
Gotta love those Republican family values.
"The Party that Wrecked America"
Of course they'll blame it on the "liberals".
The CIA has been the biggest cocaine/heroin ring on the planet for 3 decades, this is a surprise?
Wait, why are we supposed to be surprised by this? Is this even News? I mean who on earth DOESN'T believe that oil and politics combine for corruption on a daily basis? Hell, these are the little guys, you can tell because they were caught.
Hey, maybe Palin could go a preach to 'em. I'm sure that would make it all ok. Seriously, did we expect anything different from Bush appointees?
Who's the DoI's Monica Goodling? Dollars to gas-farts, the malefactors were Bushevik hires, political lackeys inserted as career employees in sensitive spots where they could siphon off the REAL money, or at least direct it and collect handsome kickbacks...
Every person hired by the Bush regime in any capacity for anything, in any and every department of government should be fired, as the first official act of any Administration which proclaims itself for institutional ethics and "change."
L.A. Confidential @ 14:
The Dims were either actively cooperative or passively complicit in everything the Busheviks did.
drill baby drill!
Man... government jobs really are the best jobs.
For more intimate details about the Republican history of Sex and Debauchery.. Watch...
The Franklin Cover-Up ~ 55 minute Discovery Channel documentary that was never aired...
McCain/Palin are a continuation of this dysfunction. oil
profits before people.....this has been one big oil orgy.
this is big news and we're talikng lipstick.
obama get back on these issues:...mccain=bush
state of economy,palin is a national security threat
This story is not news . It's SOP for oil companies and government agencies. It's a complete orgy at tax payers expense. Anyone remember Enron?
http://www.rense.com/general20/nationalenquirer.htm
Comrade Crude Oil @ 24:
"By Carl Limbacher
NewsMax.com"
Rense.com is not to be trusted and that goes tripple for newsmax!
Glad we go that cleared up ..
Boys? .....or girls? (With this group, you never know).
Yawn. So, this is the best the Bushies can do for Wednesday? Ah well, maybe tomorrow's Daily Bush Admin. Scandal will be a little more interesting.
Robert
Nader Calls For New 9/11 Investigation @ 15:
No doubt about it. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8740703353227564451
Error:
In the 2nd paragraph of the "update," the 2nd sentence is the same as the 1st one.
woody, tokin librul @ 19:
He didn't say Democrats. He said liberals.
HDon @ 26:
To be sure there's video ..
This much debauchery & stupidity means there's gotta be video ..
Not JUST the blackmail video mind you ..
There's gotta be TROPHY video too.
I'm sorry folks.. I'm sitting here laughing at all this... This particular thread.... Sex, drugs and oil scheming in the Bush junta....wow, who knew, Whodathunkit...hahaha!!! Yea, just like Required@7 says... I'm soo not shocked... Well, I guess now we all know where all those missing millions sent to Iraq ended up.... In some hookers bra no doubt and up some repub assholes nose... yea... not surprised.... But hey, how bout that Palin hottie ehh......sameasiteverwasss.....JD
I thought there was something missing with this admin.. yeah a sex scandal
Orangutan. @ 22:
does that tinfoil hat make your head itch?
woody, tokin librul @ 18:
YES!!
calgarylady @ 11:
I wonder which technique McCain will use to spin this. And the MSM will remain complicate.
This looks as if it has nothing to do with the Franklin Cover-up, but that notion did pop into my head as well.... but hey, i guess we should not consider anything that 'someguy' doesn't personally approve of...
Did they wear lipstick?
Another reason why we need someone competent in DC to oversee our government. Think Sarah is capable??
I don't she can and McCain can't tell his ass from his elbow.
Let's get this scandal into the campaign rhetoric, ASAP.
CMINCA @ 36:
This may be one of the reasons we are getting so many distractions
Watch McCain/Palin spin this to their advantage while half the country conveniently forgets that McCain has been complicit in the Bush admin's actions all along and Palin is neck-deep in the oil industry...
Who are you going to trust to clean up the Republican Party's mess? Why, two staunch Republicans, of course!
What about Bill Clinton? He worked at a gas station when he was a kid, so it must be his fault.
Why wait for any kind of virgins in the sky, when you can "BUY" all you'll ever want RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!
Please give these FILTHY RICH, "FAT BASTARDS", MORE TAX BREAKS.
The virgins are almost all gone, and what's left over, is CHARGING A LOT MORE.
Let's help keep the filthy rich from having to masterbate. Give them TAX CUTS!
Phil @ 42:
With a complicit media to echo their claims, and a silent opposition, they will pull it off, too.
Dear Lord, The GOP has had a strangle hold on religious piety for years. But everytime they are exposed, the religious fanatics still support them. What gives? Low I.Q's or what?
someguy @ 34:
The Discovery Channel. 1994. You might remember it. My head is fine.
What a Flip/Flop the world has seen lately. The Democrats are two guys faithfully married, one to his first wife, the other widowed and married to second wife for eons. Nice kids, well educated, no drugs, drink, bastard pregnancies or arrests. The the Party Hard party, GOP, full of blonde Trophy wives replacing the faithful wife waiting at home for 7 years raising the kids alone, wild teens having drunken sex while supervised by gun toting parents on snomobiles in the Meth Capitol of Alaska. Now this? Party on Repyublican dudes!
A FALSE COIN:
http://andrebenjamim.blogspot.com/2008/09/qual-verdadeira-porqu.html
Ho hum! Another day and another scandal. What's new?
reckon that's what tricky dick cheney and the oil boys discussed behind closed doors. how to really screw the country and get laid and paid to boot.
and one other thing, if anyone believes the folks running the msm are liberal give me a break. they are all businessmen who like their tax rate just fine. how are they going to keep up with the jones in hampton or nantucket. and if any of them do have a twinge of concsience big business sponors put the heat on them to lay off the republicans. wanna bet?
Pigs at the trough ..
Biggest Pig has John McCain's face on it ..
BIG LipStick on his lips ..
So, will the Repubs be charged with their own Mandatory Minimum sentences for drugs? Or is the War on Drugs just targeted at the poor and minorities?
MountainMan23 @ 26:
What, no handjobs?
Orangutan. @ 48:
King only lost because he didn't show up.
HYPOCRITES! I know there are those in the Democratic party who are "sinners" - but for Sarah's sake >>>> has there ever been such a morass of debauchery as this crop of Republicans has been wallowing in from top to bottom?????
They truly are a bunch of disgusting PIGS!
fastfeat @ 55:
Devaney's never heard of phone sex? Poor guy.
People should be going to jail here, and not just Interior Department employees. Start sending people who bribe Federal Officials to JAIL and not just hit them with a fine and maybe some of this nonsense will stop. There is NO point in fining these people who make billions of dollars of profit per quarter.
JAIL TIME, baby. And we should start with the CEOs.
And we said they weren't investing enough in "alternative energy"...
"The investigation also concluded that several of the officials “frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives.”"
They "had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives?" Whoa now! They did mean 'high-priced call girls' right?
Look now, I do not support legal prostitution, never have slept with a lady of the night, nor ever will. But bloody hell. I mean if you've already sold your soul to the devil, tossed all morality and common decency aside... Well, why go and punt on the 20?
"Oil and Gas Company Representatives"; wasn't that the title of an infamous low-budget porn movie from the late '70s?
Robert
P.S. OK, here is where I get off-line and get back on my meds.;-)
miss_kitty @ 58:
It's down on my list of preferred activities personally, but...
As Iggy Pop said (from Lust for Life): "...of course I've had it in the ear before..."
Robert Murphy @ 61:
Do you really think that prostitution is limited to the streets, brothels and hotels? When CEOs and lobbyists prostitute, there are no limits.
Well, "there they go again", this is why "Nixon's the One", why we need "1000 points of light", and now after forty years of Republithugs, why we desperately need Republican Reform. It's election time again, time to crawl to the booth, throw the switch, punch the chad, and vote against ourselves. We are the pigs wearing lipstick.
Robert Murphy @ 61:
With fuel prices what they are these days, you can bet banging an "Oil and Gas Representative" is a costly trick.
Since these were ShrubCo people, young boys were probably offered at discounted rates.
step 1 - Seize the assets of all companies in the business of producing and/or distributing energy in the US.
step 2 - Make the department of energy the sole proprietor of those assets & producer/distributor of energy.
step 3 - Follow the Al Gore plan of being completely off fossil fuels in the next decade.
trying to "regulate" the exploitation of natural resources for private profit is always going to produce corruption between the regulator & those being regulated. The taking of profit must be prohibited, only then will corruption be dealt with.
"former and current emp[employees" Yep. I'll hazard a guess: the former ones are all retired with full untouchable pensions and the current ones are going to have 10 percent cut from their annual bonuses for a year
Alice @ 49:
That was very well said.
Let us not forget that this is the crew that promised to "restore honor and dignity to the White House."
'Kay.
Of all the senior officials to serve in the Clinton White House, a staggering total of one was indicted. (I think it was Henry Cisneros.) And I need add that the man was indicted for alleged criminal activity which took place well before he became part of the Clinton Administration.
Robert
fastfeat @ 62:
I think CSN & Y said it best when they sang:
"if you can't be with the one you love honey love the one you're with" Which is pretty much and anthem filthy fucking hippies dropped decades ago. I see Thugs are keeping the practice alive.
so now we know why the repugs and their radio and tv minions have been screaming drill now
the pussy wagon must never end
wonder who squealed, cuz this wasnt supposed to come out until after the election
think the family values crowd will be upset that they were used, yet again?
Robert Murphy @ 61:
it does paint a rather interesting picture now...doesnt it
I'm looking forward to that too, CMINCA. The upcoming spinfest by both the MSM and repub candidates will be oh so entertaining!
i didn't think spitzer should have resigned then and now i rest my case.
next time someone says something nasty about a dem in a sex scandal, you have my permission to slap them.
P.D. @ 47:
they are the party of the full retard
had a repug friend say to me, doesnt matter what they do, just what they say
im amazed that these people can walk and chew gum at the same time
what's sarah palin's involvement with the employees at the interior department?
Yeah, and....?
mjULTRA @ 38:
And everything you personally approve of is of grave importance.
they "had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives".
I guess this gives new meaning to the phrases, "Drill, baby drill" and "Drill here, drill now".
Gives new meaning to the expression, "in bed with [in this case, the oil industry]"
VOTE REPUBLICAN . . . .and send the world the rest of the way to Hell.
miss_kitty @ 70:
Though in the original context of that song, "love" probably had a slightly different connotation...
The only "Love" here was for the almighty dollar and power.
Old man and his pig @ 39:
http://morningchuhi.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/giuliani_drag.jpg
karen marie @ 74:
Agreed. Poor guy's probably tossing back the shots of Jack right now.
Uncle Joe Mccarthy @ 71:
I doubt it. They'll believe whatever
reasonexcuse is given to them by Rove McPalin.Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., urged Democrats to reopen a House investigation of the Minerals Management Service that was initiated in 2006 by House Republicans. "Looking into and fixing these problems would have meant highlighting the enormous revenues that domestic oil and natural gas production contributes to our treasury. This just didn't fit into their anti-drilling campaign," he said.
______________________
Let me guess--Issa is up for re-election this Fall?
"had sex with oil company employees?" These women are highly placed prostitutes, former centerfolds and models. They are oil company employees in a way. I'm sure they get 1099'd at the end of the year....
I wonder if Hookers and Blow made an appearance? They were pretty popular during the RNC convention, you know.
The Very Bitter Ceci Hussein @ 88:
In more ways than one...
Wow.. that's quite a story. And two of the main culprits will not be prosecuted... even though.. (gasp) there's sex involved. (To the neocons, stealing millions is part of the job description.) I can't wait till this investigation really unfolds. Wait.. that's right. We need a new MSM to get that done.
If anyone leaving looks back at the Bush administration they will turn into a Pillar of Salt. I look forward to it. The more coverage this one gets the better.
And what do we think is going to happen if McCain Palin whos whole campaign is revolving around the right wings who are advancing their agenda by telling him what to do; who to choose; who not to choose etc.:
Say it with me:
MORE OF THE SAME!
OVERSIGHT BEFORE THESE CROOKS BANKRUPT AMERICA!
Which oil companies? They are guilty of bribery and should be named and charged.
"Think the family values crowd will be upset that they were used, yet again?"
Doubtless they will be, and have been in the past, but where do they go?
My strong impression is that most evangelicals are (at their core at least) well-meaning, decent people, and that most aren't stupid. But they are scared. They seem victimized by a fiercely-held Manichaean worldview which will not allow them to challenge their thinking, for if any facet of their faith is not wholly, utterly, and absolutely true all they believe necessarily must be false.
I've witnessed a cruel phenomenon (hey, I'm originally from the Midwest), where a person I had earlier known to be a fundamentalist Christian, has some sort of experience which seems to demonstrate to them that the world isn't always a holy place, and they do an 'existential 180;' i.e. they quickly embrace their own sort of atheism/nihilism, and ironically, and perhaps paradoxically, bring the very same zeal to their new 'faith' that they once evinced for their old. Now, in the most literal sense imaginable, they hold 'nothing sacred.' Seen it happen more than once...
The moral of this story boys and girls, is that absolutism of any sort is, IMHO, a bad idea. ;-)
Robert
"“Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length,” Devaney said."
Man, he's just got no imagination.
Whew! That was close.
missed it by that-much
Glen Tomkins @ 95:
LOL!!!!!!!!
Robert
Uncle Joe Mccarthy @ 72:
Yes. One which it may take nothing short of shock therapy to purge from my skull. ;-)
Robert
Zen This @ 93:
From the Yahoo article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080910/ap_on_go_ot/interior_oil_trysts;_ylt...
"Between 2002 and 2006, nearly a third of the 55-person staff in the Denver office received gifts and gratuities from oil and gas companies, including Chevron Corp., Shell, Hess Corp. and Denver-based Gary-Williams Energy Corp., the investigators found. Two oil marketers received gifts and gratuities on at least 135 occasions. One admitted having a one-night-stand with a Shell employee. That same individual allegedly passed out business cards for her sex toy business at work, bragging that her income from that business exceeded her salary at the Interior Department.
Don't get me wrong, it's the kind of thing I'd expect out of the Bush administration. But, is the department of interior all appointed by Bush or someone in his administration? I thought that was just part of the government, you know, people who worked through presidents whether they were Democratic or Republican?
This highlights a real problem that nobody seems to be discussing - just how ARE we going to de-Ba'athify all the BushCo hires that have likely infected every branch of the government?
It's like the other question - how DO we start getting our constitution and civil liberties back?
I would very much like to hear some sort of debate by the party elders, just so I know they actually want to do it.
mellowjohn @ 2:
a good detective would have followed the pecker tracks
lp @ 100:
You are right on at least one of the employees, as indicated in the Yahoo article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080910/ap_on_go_ot/interior_oil_trysts;_ylt...
"Greg Smith was a loyal, dedicated employee of the federal government for more than 28 years," Peters said Wednesday. "His efforts in running the royalty-in-kind program resulted in one of the most profitable government programs in American history."
This stuff just does't move the right wing fascists. Buchanan so much as said so on Rachel's show. He should know. He's one of them. His gut reaction to Palin's lie is exactly what the gut reaction to the millions of fascists that live among us. They could hear side by side Palin saying thanks but no thanks and a truthful, objective report to the contrary and they still say thanks but no thanks, Sara I love you. Total abscence of morality by the "value voters" is what we are dealing with. Dennis does it all the time on this site. Truth falls on deaf ears with these people!
John,
At least these clowns keep you flush with new material.
Isn't the Secretary of the Interior, Mike Levitt (another GOP family values mormon from Utah)?
What other reason is there to work in a GOPer government, except to take the American people to the cleaners and cash in on...Jesus, just a whole shitload of corporate sponsored graft, drugs and whores?!? You know, the Good Life™®©! For crying out loud, why else would anyone become a Reptilican??? Christ, if your interested in working in the spirit of service, you can become one of those chump/pussy community volunteers.
Different Anonymous @ 101:
I suggest "The Year of Firing Squads".
oh please oh please let this somehow get fucking gail norton that fucking c*nt
Does this put impeachment on the table?
All of this just makes me sick...
When I think of all the rest of nobodies here trying to get by...
while looking at the f*cking high gas bill wondering where in the hell am I going to get the money to pay for it...
& pay for food too....
Impeachment?
Here is the most telling passage in this report about why impeachment would have gone nowhere. There are too many Loyal Bushies in the Justice Department for an impeachment procedure to ever, ever do anything but spin wheels and backfire on the Democrats who pressed it.
The first and last sentence in this passage pretty much sums it up.
[[The other high-ranking official the Justice Department has declined to prosecute is Gregory W. Smith, the former program director of the royalty-in-kind program. Mr. Smith worked in Colorado and reported to Ms. Denett. He retired in 2007.
The report said that Mr. Smith improperly used his position with the royalty program to get an outside consulting job helping a technical services firm seek deals with oil and gas companies with which he was also conducting official business.
The report accused Mr. Smith of improperly accepting gifts from the oil and gas industry, of engaging in sex with two subordinates and of using cocaine that he purchased from his secretary or her boyfriend several times a year between 2002 and 2005. He sometimes asked for the drugs and received them in his office during work hours, the report said.
The report also said that Mr. Smith lied to investigators about these and other incidents, and that he urged the two women subordinates to mislead the investigators as well.
In discussions with investigators, the report said, Mr. Smith acknowledged buying cocaine from his secretary and having a sexual encounter with her at her home, but he denied discussing drugs at work. He also denied telling anyone to lie, saying that he only told people that “no one has a right to know what I do on my personal time.”
The report omits any response from Mr. Smith about allegations of sexual misconduct with another female subordinate.
Mr. Smith on Wednesday referred questions to his lawyer, Steve Peters, who said he had not yet seen the report. But he lauded Mr. Smith’s work with the royalty-in-kind program.
“Greg Smith was a loyal, dedicated employee of the federal government for more than 28 years, and notwithstanding the unfair and in many respects inaccurate allegations in today’s report, Greg is very proud of what he accomplished — and he should be,” Mr. Peters said. A Justice Department spokeswoman, Laura Sweeney, declined to explain why prosecutors chose not to bring charges against Ms. Denett or Mr. Smith, citing departmental policy. ]]]
BTW, when Bush told Bob Woodward "he had other things to do" but spend an afternoon at an Iraq War meeting, I'd bet the house he was headed on over to the ol' Department of the Interior to see if anything was cookin' over there.
Oh yes! Absolutely TRUE. There were all kinds of shenanigans going on at Austin Energy. All kinds! Trust me, people, trust me!
.......39 Old man says: Did they wear lipstick?.......
Yah, I think so because he came home from work at Austin Energy with lipstick on his collar.
Peter G @ 67:
I wondered about the statement that 2 officials are untouchable now that they have retired--if they are convicted, any government pensions or perks should be cut-off immediately. IIRC, That is now the standard for convicted congresspersons like "Duke" Cunningham.
Tim in Japan @ 105:
I was thinking the same thing. So many new scandals and bullshit from the Rethugs these days, so little time.
Nader Calls For New 9/11 Investigation @ 15:
Anything that keeps him from running for president again, I suppose ...
fastfeat @ 116:
It's like a veritable clusterfuck of epic proportions.
these fuckin neo-cons can't help but be criminals.
I bet the moralizers who have so much influence on the Republican Party's public platform will be denouncing this behavior and the lax oversight that led to it vehemently over the next few days.
Not.
I don't think the divide between the public preachings of the government and their private behavior has ever been this wide. Washington has become the Wild West of capitalism, where graft, booze, embezzlement, and illicit sex are business as usual. Mix in shameless nepotism and profligacy and you've got the makings of an entire country being brought to its knees.
Three more things...
Is this how offshore and the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge would be handled?
not that I find the situation funny but...
"Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length," Devaney said.
Well, there was the lady peddling Private Pleasures toys so....
BTW, when is the MMS Gone Wild video coming out?
This will be passed off as a few bad eggs with no repercussions up the ladder.
That investigation was a waste of tax payers money and NOTHING will happen as a result; those dishonest, lying, whoring, thieves are Christian Republicans and NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WILL EVER HAPPEN TO THEM.
Face it folks...the Southern Baptist and evangelical Pentecostals have taken over the GOP...and our nation if McCain and Palin get into office.
NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WILL HAPPEN as a result of this (another) Republican sex scandal!
You know, I don't think we appreciate that particular stress of working for the government or handling so much money. I think we need to start a campaign to bring more hookers and blow to the work environment. I know I would be more productive at my no-benefits, no health care, little non-profit community organizing job if someone threw in some hookers and blow as an incentive to make me work.... harder.
Aw come on. We all do it.
Principled Government. Now there's a radical concept!
[Deleted. Abusive. Tone it down, please. It's not as if passions are running that high on this thread. You are, after all, replying to a comment posted about 23 hours ago. Thank you. Site Monitor]
...and the Repubs had the balls to belittle Clinton for a hummer? King George and Dickhead have earned quite a legacy.
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