The Progress Report
by David Sirota, Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan
Baskin
www.progressreport.org
9/22/2004
HOMELAND SECURITY -- RIDGE HAS CONFLICT OF INTEREST,
SPOKESMAN RESPONDS WITH 'STRING OF EXPLETIVES': Homeland
Security (DHS) Secretary Tom Ridge had investments last
year in a number of companies with contracts with his
department and others who want to profit from homeland
security, a new list of his assets shows
(http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/) . A disclosure form
made public this week shows Ridge held investments in
Microsoft, which won a $90 million contract with the
department, Unisys, which was selected to manage pilot
programs funded by DHS, and Raytheon, a subcontractor to
Accenture, which won a $10 billion contract for DHS'
entry-exit program. In response to telephone inquiries by
Congressional Quarterly, "DHS spokesman Brian Roehrkasse
first said the department did not have enough time to
answer questions about the disclosure form. Pressed
further, he shouted an expletive to a reporter and hung up.
Later, in a second telephone conversation, Roehrkasse said,
'I don't know where we are in the process. I don't know...I
can't validate any information you've got,' and repeated a
string of expletives."
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