Rep. Henry Waxman, (D-Calif.) wrote a letter this afternoon to Defense Sec. Robert Gates accusing Harry Sargeant, the head of the International Oil Trading
Rep. Henry Waxman, (D-Calif.) wrote a letter this afternoon to Defense Sec. Robert Gates accusing Harry Sargeant, the head of the International Oil Trading Company of “reprehensible war profiteering” on Iraq War contracts. Sargeant’s company has reaped $210 million in profits by overcharging the Pentagon for oil fuel that is shipped from Jordan to Iraq.
The timing of Waxman’s allegations is interesting. Sargeant is a top bundler for Sen. John McCain, having raised $500,000 for the Republican presidential nominee.
The only political ties mentioned in the letter, however, are those between Sargeant and the Jordanian royal family.
International Oil Trading won three separate contracts, valued at $1.4 billion, from the Pentagon’s Defense Energy Support Center to deliver fuel to Iraq from Jordan. (The fuel was often used in U.S. jets.)
In each of the contracts, the company was either the highest or second-highest bidder. It refused to charge less than $2.10 a gallon for the oil it transported. A GAO report estimated that by not setting a more competitive price, the Pentagon cost taxpayers $180 million.
So how did International Oil Trading keep winning contracts?
Sargeant insisted to the Pentagon that his company was the only one authorized by the Jordanian royal family — and Jordan’s minister of energy and natural resources– to transport fuel. Yet what the Pentagon never investigated is that you don’t need authorization from the Jordanian government. From Waxman’s letter:
“„During the process of awarding the contract, DESC [defense energy support center] added an amendment to the contract requiring all bidders to obtain a letter of authorization from the Jordanian government allowing the company to transport fuel through the country…
“„DESC officials told the committee that they were informed by U.S. Embassy officials in Jordan that this requirement was based on Jordanian law. According to a report issued by the Library of Congress, however, Jordanian law does not require an authorization letter to transport fuel through the country.
Waxman has asked Gates to review all of International Oil Trading’s contracts. This may be the beginning of the end for Sargeant’s company, which is listed as starting-up the year it received its first Iraq War contract.
MA-Sen: 150 Conservative Bloggers Fan Out, Looking for Scandals
BOSTON -- The mysterious Election Journal blog, which first released the infamous 2008 video of two bumbling New Black Panther Party members waving nightsticks
MA-Sen: 66 to 19
BOSTON -- That, via Alex Isenstadt and Josh Kraushaar, is the number that defined the Massachusetts Senate race more than anything else. From the primary
MA-Sen: A Text Message From Scott Brown
BOSTON -- Having signed up for Scott Brown’s text message service for election day, I just got this text: Are you about to have lunch? It’s a great time to
MA-Sen: Loyal Democrats Grouse About Coakley
BOSTON -- A little while after noon, a steady crowd of Democratic voters streamed into the Cathedral High School Gymnasium to cast votes for their party’s
MA-Sen: Brown Wins
BOSTON -- At 9:20, the first rumors of Scott Brown’s victory in the Massachusetts Senate race started to work around the room. A moment later, Doug Flutie
MA-Sen Photos: ‘Paint the Town Red! Croakley’s Dead!’
Below are some photos of yesterday’s People’s Rally in Worcester, the rally that Brown held to counter-program the Obama rally in Boston. The crush of
MA-Sen: Out-of-Staters for Brown
BOSTON -- A surprising discovery at yesterday’s People’s Rally in Worcester was just how many people had traveled into the state to assist, in whatever way,
Menendez, Lautenberg to Continue BP-Lockerbie Investigation
Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, both New Jersey Democrats, will continue to seek details about BP’s alleged involvement in the release last year of
Net Investors Bullish on Palin’s Prospects for Staying on Ticket
Just for fun, the Internet prediction Website Intrade has opened a contract on whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be withdrawn as McCain’s running mate.
No Experience Necessary
Gov. Sarah Palin’s a middle-class hockey mom, but does that really qualify her to be vice president?