Bush says, when questioned about his own dealings with Harken Energy, as one of it's auditors and one of it's Board of Directors when he got out safely with all his money before his company tanked..."Some things in accounting aren't always in black and white""

White House Stonewall: Day 136
A Daily Review of the White House's Attempts to Keep America From Learning Their Secrets

Tuesday, 9 July, 2002

The White House Stonewall goes on, as the Bush administration continues to deny the non-partisan General Accounting Office's request for information on who the White House Energy Task Force met with while formulating national energy policy. For the first time in history, the GAO has sued the executive branch for access to the records. It has been 137 days since the GAO filed their suit against the Bush administration and 429 days since the White House first received the GAO request. Why is the White House going to such lengths? What are they trying to hide?

The Latest News on the White House Stonewall

President Refused to Disclose SEC Records About His Harken Insider Trading...

President Bush was dismissive and evasive over questions about his tenure as a board member with Harken Energy and the ensuing SEC investigation over his stock dumping before the company reported large losses. Bush dismissed the questions over his possible insider trading of Harken shares, which netted him $848,560, saying these questions were an example of how much "People love to play politics." Bush refused to authorize the SEC to release the full report of his investigations. Bush said, "You've seen the relevant documents." [Washington Post, 7/9/02; New York Times, 7/9/02]

Bush Refused to Answer Questions About His Stance on the Sale of a Harken Subsidiary...
President Bush told reporters to check unavailable sources after he was asked at a press conference about his role in an accounting decision the SEC said that Harken used to artificially inflate its earnings. At the time Bush was on the board of directors and a member of the audit committee. Bush said, "You need to look back on the director's minutes. But all I can tell you is, is that in the corporate world, sometimes things aren't exactly black and white when it comes to accounting procedures." [White House Press Conference, 7/9/02]