July 13, 2002
White House will not allow SEC documents about Harken Oil to be released
Associated Press
Originally published July 12, 2002
WASHINGTON - The White House defended yesterday President Bush's
low-interest loans of $180,000 from a Texas oil company where he was a director,
a type of loan that Bush now wants to ban as part of a crackdown on corporate
wrongdoing.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that such loan programs across
corporate America began as an incentive for officers to work harder for their
companies.
SEC Chairman Pitt A Potential Liability To Administration
Bush Defends Regulator From Critics
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 11, 2002; Page A06
While President Bush was delivering his long-awaited speech on corporate
governance Tuesday, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey L. Pitt
was exactly where many Bush aides wanted him to be: on a week-long beach
vacation.
"We were not surprised that the chairman was not included in administration
plans for public appearances," SEC spokeswoman Christi Harlan said. "The
commission is an independent agency."
White House officials, though calling it a coincidence, acknowledged they had no
desire for Pitt's presence.
The arms-length treatment of Pitt underscores a dilemma for Bush and his
radioactive SEC chairman. Many Democrats and even a few Republicans have called
for Pitt's resignation because of his alleged conflicts of interest and ties to
the accounting industry.