Actually, Al Gore had a conflict of interest that was significantly more serious than Cheney's Halliburton ties. Remember Occidental Petroleum? If I am not mistaken, to this day Gore has never divested himself of his Occidental interests. It was a campaign issue in 2000. I don't recall demanding jail time for Al.
Armand Hammer was a bad guy. The article refers to a biography of Hammer by Edward Jay Epstein. I've read it. Good book.
This article is a bit shrill. Do a Google search and you will find a ton of articles laying out the same story.
chuckmorse.com
Al Gore and Tea Pot Dome
By Chuck Morse
As presidential candidate Al Gore tries to emerge out of the miasma after serving as Vice President for eight years in the most corrupt administration in US history, another potential scandal is rearing its head. This one seems to have slipped under the radar screen in the cacophony of Clinton/Gore scandals. Reminiscent of the Teapot Dome affair, which tarnished the reputation of President Warren G. Harding, Gore may become embroiled in an affair involving oil, land transfers, and possible gratuities both political and pecuniary.
The 1923 Teapot Dome affair involved the transfer of the federally administered Teapot Dome oil reserve, set aside for national security, from naval jurisdiction to the Dept. of the Interior. Once Harding's Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall, obtained jurisdiction, he proceeded to lease oil rights to the private firm Sinclair Oil in exchange for a bribe. When the scandal broke, Secretary of the Navy, Edwin N. Denby, accepted responsibility for the original transfer and resigned. Interior Sec. Fall would be convicted for bribery and serve time in prison. Harding died in office before the scandal broke and, either way, was not directly involved.
In 1995, on Vice President Gore's recommendation, the Clinton Administration sold the federally administered Elk Hills oil reserves to Occidental Petroleum for $3.65 billion. This constituted, according to Charles Lewis of the Center for Public Integrity, "the largest privatization of federal property in US history". The issue is not whether or not to privatize federal land, which is appropriate in most cases, but the selling of oil reserves set aside for military purposes. Before the transaction, Occidental had contributed more than $470,000 to the Democratic Party including a check for $100,000 written two days after Occidental chairman, Ray Irani, was a guest in the Lincoln Bedroom. In addition, Gore directly received $35,550 from Occidental. Democrats often accuse Republicans being influenced by big oil, but not in this case.
Gore's relationship with Occidental goes back to his father, Sen. Al Gore Sr. who, after a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the oil behemoth was given a $500,000 annual pension by them after leaving the Senate. Armand Hammer, Occidental Chairman, was quoted as saying at the time of Al Sr's retirement that Gore was "In my back pocket". Occidental would purchase mineral rich land near the Gore farm in Tennessee, sell the land to Gore Sr. at a bargain basement price, and then pay Gore $20,000 per year for the mineral rights. The Vice President still collects an undisclosed amount on this contract, even though Occidental sold the land to another company. Gore presently owns shares in Occidental worth an estimated $500,000.
Author Edward Jay Epstein, in "Dossier-The Secret History of Armand Hammer," documents the longstanding relationship between Hammer and Soviet leaders from Lenin to Gorbachev. Hammer's father, Julius Hammer, was a founder of the American Communist Party. Hammer lived in the Soviet Union in the 1920's, financed Soviet espionage in the US, and sold confiscated Soviet art at his New York gallery.
Make no mistake, Hammer was a Soviet spy and an American traitor, no different than Alger Hiss. Hammer fenced looted Soviet art in the same way that Nazi Field Marshall Hermann Goring fenced French art looted from the Lourve in occupied Paris. Gore's family became rich from their association with Armand Hammer. There is longstanding speculation regarding whether Gore's middle name is actually Armand, named after Hammer and Gore is notoriously evasive when asked about his middle name. As co-chair of a Russia-US commission that helps develop U.S./Russian business contacts and public/private initiatives, Gore continues in his father's footsteps.
The potential scandal is replete with issues that speak to the character and career of Al Gore. Gore, who grew up with a silver spoon, has very few genuine scruples. An example of Gore's moral conviction was when he abandoned his well-vaunted concern over the environment in order to accommodate Occidental's interest in closing an environmentally damaging oil deal. Now as he goes for the presidential prize, his image-makers instruct him in such things as how to dress and appear like a regular working stiff. Of course, like Clinton, it would be impossible for Gore to be corrupt because, after all, he's on the political left. |
