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DOJ Wants UK's Files on Sketchy Defense Firm
This is going to be messy. According to the Guardian, the Justice Department's corruption investigation into British defense giant BAE -- accused by the U.K's Serious Fraud Office of lining the pockets of Prince Bandar, the former Saudi ambassador to the U.S., with $2 billion over 20 years -- threatens to strain ties between Washington and Gordon Brown's nascent government:
The department of justice in Washington has formally demanded that Britain hand over all evidence of secret payments the company made to members of the Saudi royal family to secure huge arms deals.The department has taken over the corruption investigation after British prosecutors were forced by the then prime minister, Tony Blair, to halt it late last year on alleged grounds of national security.The Serious Fraud Office in London spent £2m and more than two years amassing documents which showed BAE had transferred £1bn to Washington accounts controlled by Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, and another £1bn to Swiss bank accounts linked to agents acting for Saudi royals. The records include highly classified Ministry of Defence files detailing the government's involvement in the al-Yamamah arms deal payments. ...
If British ministers defy the justice department, this could go on to endanger reciprocal cooperation and intelligence-sharing with the US. Britain depends far more heavily on Washington than it does on Saudi Arabia. One senior source close to the US department of justice told the Guardian: "Britain's definition of national security might have to change under these circumstances."
Be skeptical of that. The U.S.-U.K. intelligence relationship is one of the most prized of the CIA's global partnerships. It would take extraordinary pressure on the part of the Justice Department -- and probably the intervention of President Bush -- for the U.S. to withhold intelligence cooperation from the British, especially as the FBI is trying to run down ties between Muslims in the U.S. to the London and Glasgow bombings. Even so, a diplomatic row between the U.S. and its closest ally over a huge, well-connected defense contractor is probably the last thing either country wants.
Comments (16)
Jake D. wrote on July 16, 2007 4:22 PM:Thank God you people weren't around during WWII.
Slim Pickin's wrote on July 16, 2007 4:24 PM:Ah, once again, the DOJ is on the case!
Let's all go home and crack open a beer while the crackerjack slueths at DOJ have turned their spotlight of justice on Bandar Bush. See how they run from the light!
I know I'll sleep better knowing that Alberto Gonzales' DOJ is taking charge on an investigation of a guy he probably sat down with for Lone Stars and Brisket on a few occasions. The only thing that could make this investigation more legit is if we could get some sort of internal investigation going at one of the defense contractors. They'll sniff it out. It's like they say, "If you want yourself investigated right, then investigate yourself!"
I feel safer all the time.
SC - Blood. As in they keep scrubbin', but it just doesn't wash off.
Slim Pickin's wrote on July 16, 2007 4:27 PM:Okay, I forgot one more addition to make it more solid.
Jake, will you look into this for us? I'd feel so much better if you were on the case.
Thanks pard.
Slim
Jake D. wrote on July 16, 2007 4:27 PM:I am a bi-sexual troll-aholic, obsessed with Cindy Sheehan & WWII. AA won't have me. The Republicans won't pay me. And I'd spend more time with my family - but Cindy is running - AWAY from me.
My only life is here - on the blogs - where I weep and gnash my teeth. Republicans grow rich, but won't even throw me a bone: My work goes unappreciated even by them! I am a worm - and no man. Oh, god, I hate myself!
My female impersonators call me "Jackie."
Jake D. wrote on July 16, 2007 4:32 PM:As I pointed out in another thread, perhaps we need comment registration to prevent name-jacking.
Anonymous wrote on July 16, 2007 4:47 PM:Little unclear what the US-UK "cooperation" and "prized relationship" is all about: THe US seems to abuse the relationship to undermine US-UK joint values. Hardly a legacy to be proud, nor something OSS of WWII would be impressed.
Anonymous wrote on July 16, 2007 4:59 PM:get your clocks and calendars ready.
Gandhi wrote on July 16, 2007 5:12 PM:Let's start a pool on how long it take for this investigation to join the all the others in the black hole.
Except, given this is "Brother Bandar"..it will slither into the dark , much much faster.
Gonzo................guardian of the netherworld...
Brown who went to Berlin first (when is he going to visit Bush?) should tell Bush that for national security reasons he cannot hand over any documents (I am sure Bush will understand), then he should tell Bush to f... himself.
johnnydoughey wrote on July 16, 2007 5:13 PM:There was a time that this would be investigated seriously and resolved in a fair manner according to the rules of law. This however was during that short time in our history when we had a democracy, and our representatives actually represented us. Now that the mobs are ruling the goals are different....
Matthew Lavine wrote on July 16, 2007 5:19 PM:Can I just say how charming I think it is that the Brits have a Serious Fraud Office? Not to be confused with the Fraud Scarcely Worth Mentioning Office and the Quite Serious Fraud Indeed Office.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on July 16, 2007 5:32 PM:Now the evil Demon-crats and TPMers are mind controlling the DoJ in to attacking Bush 43's post 2004 election mandater . . . Woe! Is all lost? NO! You go get them Jacking D. You tell'em dats it ee-val to investigate any member of the Saudi Royal Family . . . just cuz kissing and holding hands with George made him holy and above repproach.
Jake baiting aside . . . The Sauds have been screwing America and Britian for decades nows and have directly and indirectly killed more American citizens than all other Arabic nations combined . . . Why look into their shady deals now?
Richard L. Adlof wrote on July 16, 2007 5:40 PM:Jake D. @ July 16, 2007 4:22 PM:
"Thank God you people weren't around during WWII."
Did need to be, Eisenhower was on the job . . . Remember what a Republican with morals looks like . . . I do.
Willingly signing my given name,
LabDancer wrote on July 16, 2007 7:05 PM:Richard L. Adlof
Word up, Muck homes.
The Brit Serious Fraud Office has an HUMONGOUS work-up on the various "nuances" to sales of human extermination equipment & expertise thru British Aerospace [BAe] to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia {KSA], under the umbrella of the inspirationally moniker'd "El Yamamah" ["The Dove" - as "of peace" - either in consequence of that particular condition hoped to be assured by the rows on rows of armed assault land vehicles & bomb-equipped fighter jets, or because after one too many celebratory hookahs shared between certain "business princes" of the House of Saud - including prominently B43 bud Bandar the respective negotiators got a little giddy.
Much of the proceeds of sales from BAe-to-KSA sales went from the Brit vendor to the US private equity Carlyle Group - the one run by ex-Reagan CIA bigshot Frank Carlucci & council'd by the Ubiquitous Consigliari known as James Baker - to close BAe's purchase of a concern known as United Defense.
So thoroughly is the Carlyle Group infused with assorted senior Reaganauts & Bush41'ers - including the old 41'er his own self - you'll find it TEMPTING to conclude it operates like sort of a 401K for former US Pretzels & their top salsa chefs.
The private consortium of war toolmakers doing business under the name United Defense now operates as BAe-In-America, and occupies a very large comfy chair in the front row of the periodic meetings of the Future Combat Systems group.
So why in tarnation would the DoJ of good ol' boy & MBA-in-training US Pretzel Jorge Bush tne Younger, acting on the authority of that little voice whispering into his right ear known as Cheney [derived from the English "Chesney", meaning "one who tends to bushes" - look it up if you think I'm kidding here], be looking to PROSECUTE a company so intimately tied to Bandar & assorted Saudi princes. It's just like that old Bugs Bunny cartoon where Yosemite Sam adds up all the evidence on a calculator & exclaims to the audience: "It just DON'T ADD UP!"
Mind you, this all might make a bit more sense if one were to view the UK Serious Fraud office file on BAe & KSA as the off-shore equivalent of that file which San Diego USA Carol Lam had accumulated on the Rep Duke Cunningham - Brent Wilkes - Dusty Foggo - Rep Jerry Lewis consortium of influence peddling & fraud & money laundry [through the OVP].
Okay now that's just starting to look very suspicious & get me all nervous - as in, does the job of the blue-green AlG currently sitting in the chair behind the desk of the office of US A-G include burying any investigations which get too close to a certain smirking chimp, & is he simply "doin' it again"?
The kindest take I have for B43 is that someone in the White House - I guess that'd have to be Stephen Hadley as the designated last-man-ou-to-be - or Fred Fielding, so to be known for the Biggest Criminal Defense practice in the civilized world - is just trying to perform due diligence on the Pardoner-In-Chief's belated 2008 Christmas list.
I also think it's likely AlG is "bringing home" the details of the Bush crime family contributions - for a "proper decent burial on home soil" - probably somewhere deep under the Pretzel's ranch near Crawford.
Your federal government - just acting efficiently in killing two birds with one stone. Goodbye Jerry Lewis indictment. Goodbye Dick Cheney/Scooter Libby money laundering indictment.
Roberta wrote on July 16, 2007 7:29 PM:Now that Tony Poodle, I mean Blair, is out, the Brits will probably conduct a good and thorough investigation. Maybe we could just borrow their notes and then have our own prosecution later on--2009?
I wish all the political appointees in the DoJ could be disqualified from any activities until the Congress's investigations are complete--kind of like not getting bail during an appeal. Then I might feel that any investigation and prosecution the DoJ undertakes have some sort of legal and ethical foundation.
So sad what's happened with the DoJ. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. must be spinning in his crypt.
regular lurker wrote on July 16, 2007 11:31 PM:Was there ever a serious audit of Riggs Bank?
Anonymous wrote on July 17, 2007 11:37 AM:Yes, regular lurker. There WAS a serious audit of Riggs Bank.
They found that funds from the customers accounts were being "diverted." The investigation was hampered by the fact that many and several of the senior bank employees turned tout to have high security clearances and to be operating clandestinely doing Cheney-knows-what.
Riggs was ordered to return these funds. President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea had an account at Riggs whereby ALL of the money supposed to be paid into the national treasury from the sale of oil, was deposited. EQ is pumping a LOT of oil so this money comprised a very significant fortune. Almost none of it was found to actually be sitting within reach of Riggs. Shortly after the bank was ordered to cough it back up, several mercenaries were arrested in both EQ and in Zimbabwe. Apparently they were on the brink of overthrowing Obiang.
To this day, the money has not been repaid but Obiang seems to have forgotten all about it. WorldBanker Wolfowitz praised him for this and for releasing several "Armenians" he had locked up over the affair. It is said that Doug Feith had a hand in this matter. Google WONGA LIST.
Pinochet also had huge amounts of cash in Riggs. Not sure what became of it during or after Riggs was sold to PNC Bank in 2004.
Bandar is believed to have high security clearances. The initial investigation into Riggs was sparked by 911 and claims that Princess Haifa has written checks on Riggs to some unsavory characters. The investigation found so many irregularities in the manner Riggs bank managed her account, that she was pretty much cleared of wrongdoing.