The document, a Pentagon e-mail, said senior Pentagon official Douglas Feith provided arrangements for the Restore Iraq Oil (RIO) contract signed between the US government and Halliburton.
According to Time the e-mail said, “Feith approved arrangements for the contract contingent on informing [White House] tomorrow. We anticipate no issues since action has been coordinated [with Vice President’s] office.”
Feith reports directly to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
An administration official, speaking to Time under condition of anonymity said, “The memo merely mentions the fact that the White House had been given a standard courtesy call notifying that a contract decision that had already been made and was being publicly announced soon.”
In a statement Cheney spokesman Kevin Kellems said, “Vice President Cheney and his office have had no involvement whatsoever in government contracting matters since he left private business to run for vice president.”
Halliburton has long denied allegations of favourable treatment from the White House. It would not comment on the issue when pressed by the magazine. Cheney was Halliburton CEO from 1995 to 2000.
