More Republican Shenanigans

[Ninong]

Webster tied to accused firm
New accounting overseer told SEC chief of fraud allegations

Stephen Labaton, New York Times Thursday, October 31, 2002

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Washington -- Shortly before William Webster was appointed to head a new board overseeing the accounting profession by the Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, he told the commission's chairman, Harvey Pitt, that he had recently headed the auditing committee of a company that was facing fraud accusations, Webster recounted on Wednesday.

Pitt chose not to tell the other four commissioners who voted on Webster's nomination that day, according to SEC officials. White House officials said they, too, were not informed about the details of Webster's work for the company.

The small publicly traded company, U.S. Technologies, is now all but insolvent. Its chief executive, C. Gregory Earls, is facing lawsuits by investors who say they were defrauded of millions of dollars.

The suits contend the misconduct occurred in late 2001 and this year. That was after the three-person audit committee, headed by Webster, had voted to dismiss outside auditors after the auditors raised concerns about the company's internal financial controls.

Webster, the 78-year-old former director of the CIA and FBI, said he told Pitt and Robert Herdman, the agency's chief accountant, about the investor lawsuits before he was approved last Friday.


I'm still ROTFLMAO over that one!

First of all, they decide to appoint the former head of the CIA as a watchdog over accounting firms! How ridiculous is that?!! Like he did such a great job at the CIA keeping up on things.

Second, the guy admits that he's about to be in deep doodoo over his own accounting irregularities but Harvey Pitt (there's a typical Republican appointee for ya), who has enough problems of his own keeping his job, decides to keep it quiet. (P.S. -- I have a feeling we're gonna kill two birds with one stone here. )

How can the Republicans be so stupid! This is a scream. Maybe they could just wait a week and offer the job to Bill Simon. His background seems to qualify him based on typical Republican standards. (Which brings up another stupid Republican trick: Running the only candidate in the state of California that Gray Davis is capable of defeating. But that's another thread. ;))



And I guess you're all wondering where Dick Cheney was during all this? He was in a secure, undisclosed location. He's gonna be in an obscure, undisclosed location come time for the next Republican convention. Fearless prediction: Dick will not run again! We won't have Dick to kick around any more. Hey, wait a minute. That sounds very familiar. Oh, right... wrong Dick. Sorry.

[wgscott]

The guy presided over numerous FBI breakins of people in the Central American solidarity movement. But that was ok. It didn't threaten the legitimacy of capitalism.

[wgscott]

Hey, Ning, I've voted (absentee) for the Green guy for Gov and then for Bustamante for Lt. Gov., just to make sure Davi$ gets the message.

[Ninong]

If you want to make sure he gets a message, just write it on a check.

[schrocat]

This is surreal...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/829154.asp?0bl=-0

[Ninong]

Schrocat,

OMG, that is so funny!!!

Nov. 1 — SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt’s political problems deepened so badly Thursday that he was forced to call for an investigation — into himself.

This is even more hilarious than even I could have expected. Looks like I was right on the money. We're definitely gonna gets two birds with this one.

The timing is exquisite! Five days before an election that could shift the balance of power in congress.

I'm laughing so hard my sides are hurting.

[Ninong]

I just finished reading the entire article. His performance is even funnier than I knew. I had heard most of that stuff but not all of it. Harvey Pitt is the poster boy for what all Democrats, and other enlightened persons, view as the typical Republican appointee. But most of them have enough sense to keep their mouths shut.

Calling for an investigation was a smart move in the sense that it can be used as an excuse to hold off calls for his immediate resignation--meaning before the election. "We have to wait for all the facts to come out before we make a decision" etc. He resigns very soon after the election, Webster declines the appointment, and the White House claims that it just proves how vigilant they are in cleaning up corporate malfeasance.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Ninong:

He resigns very soon after the election...

The President accepted the resignation of Harvey Pitt as SEC Chairman exactly one hour after the polls closed on the east coast. He said he wants to spend more time with his family.

[wgscott]

Now we need to get rid of his Atty Gen.

[Ninong]

Don't hold your breath.

It looks like the Repubs are gonna be in charge for the next couple of years, so I guess that means you'll have more to post about. Maybe Robert Bork will resurface as a possible Supreme Court nominee.

This has to be the most surprising election result since 1948. The final pre-election polls were off by about 2-6% across the board across the country. The Republicans did better than predicted in virtually every state and in virtually every race.

Even in California the governor's race was much closer than predicted the day before the election. Gray Davis won, but he won by only 5 points statewide. Considering the hilarious campaign run by his Republican opponent, he should have been able to do better than that. It is refreshing to note that he beat the Republican candidate in the city and county of San Francisco by more than 40 points. Even the Green Party candidate beat the Republican candidate in SF.

[schrocat]

Originally posted by Ninong
Maybe Robert Bork will resurface as a possible Supreme Court nominee.

Have you read "Battle for Justice: How the Bork Nomination shook America?"

Pretty good read IMO.

[Ninong]

Schrocat,

No, I didn't read that book. I really do not enjoy reading books about, or by, people like Bork.

My most vivid memory of Robert Bork is that he is the guy who fired Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor. You are too young to remember something like that but I am not.

Cox and his staff began to uncover evidence of wrongdoing and Nixon responding by ordering his Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, to fire him. As an honorable man, Richardson refused and resigned instead. His assistant, William Ruckelshaus, also refused and was fired. Nixon finally got the Solicitor General, Robert Bork, to fire Cox in what has come to be known as the Saturday Night Massacre.

The Republicans tried to reward Bork for his 'service' with an appointment to the Supreme Court. His nomination was defeated. The next guy Reagan nominated in his place--I can't remember his name--was also defeated. Finally, Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy, who was confirmed.

It could be de-ja vu all over again now that GeeDubya has a Republican Senate.

[schrocat]

It's not a pro Bork book.

But at the same time it goes into detail about the spinning done by various groups and individuals to paint Bork in the worst possible colors during his confirmation hearings.

Doug "cough" Ginsburg was the runner up.
But he "cough" did some things at "cough" Harvard that the White House thought they'd "pass" on.
(He clerked for Thurgood Marshall BTW)

I'd suggest the book to anyone who wishes to follow Supreme Court nominees in the near future.
If Scalia gets a buddy...we're in deep doo-doo.

[Iron Crab]

I stated before that I think the Repubs are not the greatest but I fail to see this attraction to the Dems. They seem so childish in their ideas and down right embarrassing.
In my state we now have a Dem Governor who thinks gun control is the answer to crime.
"I would be a criminal but it's against the law to have a gun"

Why the Dems over the Repubs?? Just wondering.

I find Scalia very colorful.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Schrocat:

It's not a pro Bork book.

I know that. But I still don't need a New York Times dude to tell me about things that I remember quite well. And I am all too familiar with Bork's thinking.

I once picked up a copy of Henry Kissinger's memoirs because it weighed about five pounds and was on sale for something like $1.98. I thought it might give new insight into the goings on inside the White House. Wrong!! It was the most tedious, boorrring read I ever tried to get through, although he does relate their tearful on-their-knees prayer session that he had already leaked to everyone who would listen. Henry was one of the greatest diplomats who ever lived. Just ask him.

[Ninong]

Iron,

This is a Republican Shenanigans thread.

Start your own Demo Shenanigans thread.

It is not intended as a high-minded philosophical discussion of the relative merits of the two major political parties. What we started out with here was an incredibly inept Republican appointee and the wonderfully embarrassing predicament he got himself into.

They were fairly clever in timing the release of the news of his 'resignation.' I don't even recall anything about "with a great sense of regret" or "gratitude for a job well done" and all the other BS than usually accompanies such resignation announcements. Do you?

[schrocat]

Originally posted by Iron Crab

I find Scalia very colorful.

Heh.
Which color...black or white.

[Iron Crab]

Ninong,
I agree with you completely on what went on with this. I never did any research but just caught the news about it. Along with inept and embarrassing you could have thrown in "stupid" too.( oh, I see that you did!)
I was just wondering why this is note worthy and stupid Dem things are not and believe me- when our political parties are involved I don't expect anything "high minded".
I thought the discussion opened a little with your "Don't hold your breath" post. My mistake.
Anyways.
Sorry, I didn't know the subject is not allowed to change from the original thread. It won't happen again. I hope.

[schrocat]

IC,

You can hijack any thread whenever and wherever you want...

I attempted too with the Bork book hijack attempt a few posts up.

[Ninong]

Iron,

Usually you can change the subject as many times as you like in a thread. I do it all the time.

But if that were allowed in this particular type of thread we would never end it. So maybe it would be better if we confined topics like this to just the original jackass du jour in hopes that wgscott will not post more Iraqi baby pics. ;)