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American Morning
Cheney Keeps Low Profile
Aired July 25, 2002 - 08:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: In the months following 9/11, Vice President Dick Cheney spent a good deal of time in an undisclosed location for national security reasons. Now, he may be staying out of sight for other reasons.
According to the "New York Daily News," Cheney's lawyers have advised him to keep a low profile until the SEC investigation of his former company, Halliburton, has been resolved.
Does the vice president have a reason to hide?
Joining us now to "Sound Off," from Washington, Democratic political strategist Bob Beckel, Cliff May, former RNC communications director.
Good morning, gentlemen.
BOB BECKEL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning, Paula.
CLIFF MAY, FORMER RNC DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS: Good morning, Paula. Nice to see you.
ZAHN: All right, Bob, what do you make of this story?
BECKEL: Well, I mean I think it makes sense. I mean if you've got a guy who can damage you like this in the middle of now, the dominant story in politics, and the vice president himself and his company, his actions when he was CEO, are under scrutiny, then I think the wise thing to do is to keep him undercover, not let him near the media.
ZAHN: But wait, wait, wait, wait. You just said damage, you know, the administration. What has surfaced so far other than the specter of the investigation that looks bad?
BECKEL: Well, you can't, I mean, first of all, you've got a sitting president and a sitting vice president of which questions have been raised about their own respective business dealings in oil companies right on top of the largest scandal in American corporate history. Now, the one thing I will say, if Cheney goes under, I mean that's like what happens when the puppeteer can't work? What happens to the puppet? I don't know, maybe Cliff can answer that.
MAY: Let me, look, let's leave, inject a few facts into Bob's hyperventilation. There is no allegation whatsoever on the part of anybody but, I suppose, Bob and some of his friends, of any wrongdoing whatsoever on Cheney's part. The investigation doesn't target him at all. There's also no evidence whatsoever of any practices by Halliburton that were wrong. The only thing that's even being alleged or considered is whether they needed to report them earlier than they did, and the company thinks they didn't need to because it didn't affect the bottom line.
By the way, I'm sure Bob has no idea of what the substance of the charges he's making are. Keep in mind that the Democrats, they tried to smear Cheney during the campaign, saying this is a far right-wing radical, further even right than Cliff May. I mean he's really out there. And now they want to tie him to the corporate scandal for purely political motives. They think they can pick up some seats.
People are going to see through this campaign of smear and indo. It's really not nice.
By the way, Cheney is right.
ZAHN: OK, before you go any further, let's let Bob respond to that.
MAY: Sure, Bob. Go ahead.
ZAHN: You know, what about the allegations that Democrats...
MAY: Talk about the substance, Bob.
ZAHN: ... see a vulnerability here and this is what they're going to use to try to win some seats back come November?
BECKEL: Well, of course we are. I mean it, what he's, Cliff says it's not nice. Let me tell you, Cliff, this ain't bean bag we're in here. This is politics. The House is held by only six seats, the Senate by one. And the fact of the matter is I do know the substance of Halliburton. I also know now enough about the purchase of a company that brought Halliburton down to its knees because of asbestos complaints and that was a Dick Cheney move, this great, brilliant business guy you keep talking about.
When you ask us about allegations, of course we're going to talk about 0it. And he is implicated. He was CEO. You guys kept Whitewater going for eight years. In fact, you've still got it going. And that was, you know, that was a little puddle of water down in Arkansas compared to these big companies. So if you can't take the heat, baby, then don't get into this business. It's a tough place to be right now.
MAY: Keep in mind that Whitewater led to the convictions of about a dozen people, including a sitting governor. It did not lead to the conviction of Bill Clinton. I don't raise it. You raise it almost every time.
Look, this is an, this, again, this is an attempt to try to drag Cheney's name through the mud. I don't -- and the fact of the matter is, and I think people understand this, Cheney is the most empowered, perhaps the smartest and the most consequential vice president in all of American history.
BECKEL: Actually, I don't think a lot of people...
ZAHN: So, Cliff, Cliff?
MAY: Yes?
ZAHN: Is it a mistake, then, for the appearance that, by some, or at least to some, that he's in hiding?
MAY: No. I think that people understand that a vice president actually has work to do and that coming on TV is not so much work as it is fun. That's what Bob and I do because we have a few extra minutes in the morning. But actually Cheney can actually do some work. He doesn't need to be on various shows, on CNN, frankly. And he knows, unfortunately, that as long as the Democrats are making all these allegations, an awful lot of reporters are going to say what about these allegations, Mr. Cheney?
And he doesn't want to feed into it at a time when he knows the truth. The truth is he was a good CEO, he made good decisions based on the information he had. The only reason Halliburton is being investigated at all is because if the SEC did not do that, Bob would say ah ha, you see, the administration has told the SEC to keep hands off. They've blocked the investigation. It's a cover-up.
So the SEC has to look at it. But all -- Halliburton did nothing wrong and Cheney did nothing wrong. And what Bob is saying, as well, he bought the wrong company. Hey, a lot of businessmen bought the wrong company. I don't know about that. In terms of asbestos, this really has to do with Bob's friends the trial lawyers.
BECKEL: Oh, come on.
MAY: That's where the issue -- yes, the trial lawyers suing everything.
BECKEL: You know, you guys, when you get behind the eight ball, you're always in some, reach some place to grab either Clinton or the trial lawyers. The fact of the matter is that Cheney loved to be on the talk shows. And I think he would be, I mean he should be happy to be on this show, but he won't come. Why? Because he's got...
ZAHN: We've invited him, Bob.
BECKEL: I know. I'm sure you have.
ZAHN: We'd love for him to come.
BECKEL: But let's remember, his lawyers say don't talk to anybody. Now, if this is no problem, if he had nothing to do with this, this is just SEC action, then does he think that there are going to be less questions by him not talking to the press? Of course not. And you expect us to sit back while this guy goes into hiding, into deep freeze like a polar bear and not take advantage of that situation? Why? Because this guy has been out there picking on Democrats for the last year and a half and now the worm's turned and it's just too bad. I think Cheney's got something to hide.
MAY: He's been...
ZAHN: Cliff, Cliff, we're going to have to give you the last word. You've got to do it in five seconds.
MAY: Cheney has been picking on Democrats?
ZAHN: You've got to beat the clock.
MAY: That is crazy. I don't know, look, Cheney doesn't want to come into this hyperventilation. He wants to go and do some work on terrorism, on the economy, on things that matter.
ZAHN: All right, you owe Bob, three seconds left. You went three seconds over.
MAY: Oh, well.
ZAHN: Cliff May, thanks so much.
MAY: Thanks.
ZAHN: Bob Beckel, delighted to have both of you with us, as usual.
BECKEL: Nice to be here.
ZAHN: Appreciate your time.
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