AL GORE HAS ALWAYS BEEN OCCIDENTAL'S VERY OWN "PETROLEUM POLITICIAN"
liesaboutbush.com
In 1997, Occidental Petroleum Tripled Its Oil Reserves By Acquiring Elk Hills In The "Largest Privatization Of Federal Property In U.S. History." As part of his Reinventing Government (REGO) initiative in 1995, Gore advocated the privatization of the Naval Petroleum Reserves located at Elk Hills oil field near Bakersfield, California. (Al Gore, Common Sense Government: Works Better and Costs Less, 1995, p. 221) Occidentals purchase of the 47,000 acre property, as one of twenty-two bids submitted by fifteen interested parties, allowed it to pick up a "crucial source of light crude [oil] in California" and triple its U.S. oil reserves overnight. Furthermore, acquisition of the field also allowed Occidental to triple the amount of natural gas extracted from the field. (Aliza Fan, "Administrations DOE Cuts Include Plan to Privatize Naval Petroleum Reserve; Department of Energy," The Oil Daily, December 19, 1994; Charles Lewis, The Buying of the President 2000, p. 143; "DOE to Sell Elk Hills for $3.65 Billion," Environmental News Network, October 9, 1997)
Al Gores Energy Department Did Not Conduct The Required Environmental Impact Assessment Itself, Instead Delegating The Task To ICF Kaiser International, Inc., Where Former Gore Campaign Chair Tony Coelho And Former Energy Secretary Hazel OLeary Were On The Board. "Although, the Energy Department was required to assess the likely environmental consequences of the proposed sale [to Occidental], it didnt. Instead it hired a private company, ICF Kaiser International, Inc., to complete the assessment." (Charles Lewis, The Buying of the President 2000, p. 143) Interestingly, two of the more prominent members of the board of directors of Kaiser were Gores future presidential campaign chairman Tony Coelho and former Energy Secretary Hazel OLeary. (Charles Lewis, The Buying of the President 2000, p. 143; "Briefs: ICF Kaiser Appoints OLeary To Board," Journal of Commerce, March 12, 1997)
Al Gore Hypocritically Denounced Global Warming On The Same Day The Elk Hills Sale Was Announced. On the day of the announcement of the Elk Hills sale, Gore delivered a speech at the White House Conference on Climate Change at Georgetown University. While there, he denounced global warming and its alleged effects on the Earths atmosphere: "If we ignore the scientific warnings and continue stubbornly on our current course, wed better begin to prepare what we would like to say to our children and grandchildren, because if they encounter the terrible consequences the scientific community is saying now come as a result of global climate disruption, and then look back at the evidence which was clearly laid out for us in our generation, they might fairly ask, If you knew all that, why didnt you do something about it?" (Vice President Al Gore, "Remarks By President Clinton And Vice President Al Gore At White House Conference On Climate Change Georgetown University, Washington, DC," Federal News Service, October 6, 1997) (emphasis added)
AL GORE'S ALLIANCE WITH OCCIDENTAL HAS BEEN LONG STANDING AND MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL
Al Gore, Sr. Had A Long And Profitable Relationship With Occidental. "The elder Gore was such a loyal political ally that Occidentals founder and longtime CEO, Armand Hammer, liked to say that he had Gore in my back pocket." In fact, when Al Gore, Sr., left the Senate in 1970, Armand Hammer gave him "a $500,000-a-year job at an Occidental subsidiary and a seat on the companys board of directors." (Ken Silverstein, "Gores Oil Money; Occidental Petroleum and United States Foreign Policy In Colombia," The Nation, May 22, 2000)
Vice President Al Gores Alliance With Occidental Petroleum Has Also Been Very Profitable. In 1973, Occidental sold Al Gore, Sr., 88 acres of pastureland and a 2,100-square foot house in Carthage, Tennessee for $80,000, and, in a separate transaction, the mineral rights to that land for $80,000. The elder Gore then subsequently leased the mineral rights back to Occidental for "$20,000 in the first year, $10,000 annually for the next three years, and $20,000 for each year after that." The elder Gore then kept Occidentals first payment of $20,000 and sold the property to his son for $140,000, $60,000 of which was for the mineral rights lease and $80,000 of which was for the house and land, which remains the Vice Presidents legal residence. (Bill Turque, Inventing Al Gore, 2000, p. 105-106) Occidentals payments to Al Gore eventually totaled $190,000 by the time it sold its mineral rights lease in the 1980s. Occidentals successors have continued to pay Gore $20,000 per year since the sale. (Micah Morrison, "Vetting the Frontrunners II: Albert Gore Jr. Occidental and Oriental Connections," The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 1999) "In total, Mr. Gore has earned $500,000 from zinc royalties.". (Micah Morrison, "Al Gore, Environmentalist and Zinc Miner," The Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2000) In addition, the younger Gore is the executor of a trust fund for his mother, Pauline, that contains Occidental stock valued at between $500,001 and $1,000,000. Gore stands to inherit this stock upon his mothers death. (Al Gores Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, May 25, 1999, p. 6)
Despite Gores Statements Indicating That He Has No Control Over His Mothers Occidental Stock, Activists Dont Buy His Argument. "The activists reject Mr. Gores argument that he cant unload the stock because it belongs to his mother. This is rubbish in my mind, says Steve Kretzmann, a consultant with Amazon Watch who has been in a talks with Mr. Gore and his representatives. Hes the executor of the estate." (Helene Cooper, "Gore Faces Embarrassing Protests About Familys Occidental Shares," Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2000)
The Activists Are Right, Gore Had Sole And Unfettered Control Over The Assets Of His Fathers Estate For 16 Months. Gores father died on December 5, 1998. Under the terms of his fathers will, Gore was appointed executor of his fathers estate. On December 9, 1998, Gore filed his oath as executor. In a subsequent court filing, Gore "admitted that as of February 14, 2000, the trust for mothers benefit had not been funded. On March 9, 2000, the Court appointed his brother-in-law, Frank Hunger to serve as "alternate trustee." So for a period of 16 consecutive months (December 9, 1998 through March 9, 2000), Gore had sole and unfettered control over the assets of his fathers estate (which included the Oxy stock and the dividends paid thereon)." (Estate of Albert Gore, Sr., Smith County Probate Court, Case No. P-867)
Gores Claim That He Does Not "Control" The Occidental Stock Rings Hollow. In response to an on-line question about the Occidental stock, Gore denied that he could do anything with the holding:
Vice President Gore: "Actually, I don't own any stock in Occidental. Nor do I control any stock. When my father died 18 months ago, I was named executor of his estate -- a position which has one and only one duty: to see that the terms of the will are abided by. In discharging that responsibility I saw to it that the stock he left for the benefit of my mother was transferred to a Trust that is supposed to provide for her and her care. The trustee has the responsibility of managing the assets of the trust (which is about $500,000). I do not." (Gore On-Line Forum with The Washington Post, July 10, 2000)
Frank Hunger, Gore's brother-in-law, was appointed trustee over Pauline Gore's trust, which "controls" all the Oxy stock. Surely Gore cannot claim with a straight face that he can't sell the Oxy stock when Hunger, "has become a virtual brother to Gore since Gore's sister died," is a member of his closest political advisors known as Gores "kitchen cabinet" and participated in all of the final meetings regarding Gores selection of a vice presidential running mate. (Laurence McQuillan and Susan Page, "Gore Family, Aides Assist Decision," USA Today, August 8, 2000)
Occidentals Chief Armand Hammer "Was As Cozy With Gore Jr. As He Was With Gore Sr." "According to Neil Lyndon, who worked on Hammers personal staff and ghosted his memoirs, Witness to History, the Occidental chieftain was as cozy with Gore Jr. as he was with Gore Sr. When he came to Washington, Hammer regularly met Gore [Jr.] for lunch or dinner. They would often eat together in the company of Occidentals Washington lobbyists and fixers who, on Hammers behest, hosed tens of millions of dollars in bribes and favours into the political world, Lyndon writes." (Ken Silverstein, "Gores Oil Money; Occidental Petroleum and United States Foreign Policy in Colombia," The Nation, May 22, 2000)
Occidental Was One Of Gores Earliest Backers. Occidental Petroleum President William McSweeney was one of Gores earliest campaign contributors, dating back as far as Gores first congressional race. (Bill Turque, Inventing Al Gore, 2000, p. 124)
Occidental Has Continued To Fund Gore And The Democratic Party. Occidental has continued to be one of Al Gores major financial backers. Occidental loaned $100,000 to the 1992 Presidential Inaugural Committee while Gore was Vice President-elect. Furthermore, Occidental contributed $50,000 to the Democratic Party in response to a Gore fundraising phone call and $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee two days after Occidental Chairman Ray Irani spent the night in the Lincoln Bedroom. According to the Center for Public Integritys book, The Buying of the President, Occidental has contributed "more than $470,000 in soft money to various Democratic committees and causes" since 1992. (Charles Lewis, The Buying of the President 2000, pp. 151-152)
Throughout His Career, Gore Has Secured Special Access And Privileges To Occidental, His Major Financial Backer. Gores political offices allowed him to secure special favors for his Occidental backers, including Occidentals late Chairman Armand Hammer and Ray Irani, its current Chairman. Among the benefits conferred on Armand Hammer were prestigious invitations to the inaugurations of Ronald Reagan in 1985 and George Bush in 1989. After Hammers death in 1990, Gore continued his relationship with Occidental through Ray Irani. Not only did Gore have Irani invited to the second official state dinner held in honor of President Boris Yeltsin in 1994, he also placed Irani as part of a trade mission to Russia with Commerce Secretary Ron Brown in the spring of 1994. (Charles Lewis, The Buying of the President 2000, pp. 151-152) |
