Army staffer: Halliburton case 'worst abuse'

FBI widens investigation, company sees election ploy in allegations
NBC, MSNBC and news services
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6356265/
Updated: 10:58 a.m. ET Oct. 29, 2004

WASHINGTON - An Army contracting officer who led the FBI to widen its investigation of Pentagon contracts to Halliburton told NBC News that she had never seen a worse case of contracting abuse.

"It was the worst abuse of the procurement and contracting system that I have seen," Bunnatine Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers’ chief contracting officer, told NBC in an exclusive interview. A brief portion of the interview aired on MSNBC, and the full report will be on NBC Nightly News Friday.

Halliburton dismissed the allegations as election politics. Sen. John Kerry's campaign has seized on the allegations to charge the Bush administration of playing favorites. Vice President Dick Cheney headed Halliburton before taking office.

FBI agents this week sought permission to interview Greenhouse after she alleged that her agency unfairly awarded KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, no-bid contracts worth billions of dollars for work in Iraq.

The line of inquiry expands an earlier FBI investigation into whether Halliburton overcharged taxpayers for fuel in Iraq, and it elevates to a criminal matter the election-year question of whether the Bush administration showed favoritism to Vice President Dick Cheney’s former company.

New audit slams Halliburton work in Kuwait

Whistle-blower protection sought
Greenhouse’s lawyers said Thursday their client will cooperate but that she wants whistle-blower protection from Pentagon retaliation.

“I think it (the FBI interview request) underscores the seriousness of the misconduct, and it also demonstrates how courageous Ms. Greenhouse was for stepping forward,â€

Yahoo! Another "October Surprise!" Kerry up by 7 in Monday's Zogby now!