We aren't going to hear much about the corporations that paid bribes in the Oil-for-Food scandal because Bush's family, friends and closest advisors are in it knee-deep, along with some Democrats. One notable exception we are hearing about is Oscar Wyatt, pictured here.
"Wyatt's memorandum asserts that he has been singled out by the federal governement for prosecution even though a special U.N. panel led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker found that a large class of similarly-situated people and more than 2,000 companies had paid surcharges to the Iraqi government under the program, but had not been subjected to prosecution. Wyatt -- who has been a frequent and harsh critic of both Bush Administrations and the government's Middle East policies -- contends that the prosecution is punishment for Wyatt's outspoken views:
Here the government has singled out Wyatt for prosecution as a persistent and vocal critic of U.S. policy and support for commerce with Iraq, . . [. . .]
The government is now seizing its opportunity to silence Wyatt and vindictively punish him for his expression of these views. In a classic case of selective and discriminatory prosecution, the government has chosen to select only the most outspoken of its critics for prosecution for regulatory violations of the very embargo he strenuously has criticized.
Wyatt's memorandum goes on to argue that companies that paid the surcharges may have violated international norms, but they did not obtain or divert money or property from those whom the government has identified as the alleged victims."
-- Tom Kirkendall's Houston's Clear Thinkers
...update October 1 2007 - Oscar Wyatt pleads guilty in oil-for-food trial...
peAce...topbop!
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