Notes For Thursday, November 28, 2002

More On The Audit "Scandal": AP follows up with John Ellis Bush about not one, but two (2) delays obtained in starting the federal Health and Human Services Department Inspector General's audit of the State's pension plan. In Bush fashion, John Ellis asserted: "There's no moving parts here that yield some kind of secret conspiracy." What Bush means by this is unclear, the Bush family lexicon is a separate subject unto itself, but it seems like this is yet another denial of wrongdoing by Bush.

The "request" for an audit delay - if it can be called a mere request coming as it was from the President's brother to Inspector General Janet Rehnquist, the daughter of the man who led the judicial cabal that installed the President, and herself an attorney in the Bush I White House - ensured the review couldn't be finished before Bush won re-election. A now retired deputy Inspector General "began to smell politics," and the transaction was exposed. The deputy Inspector General had been at the HHS inspector general's office since its inception in 1976, said he was ordered by Rehnquist to approve two delays to the audit before he retired in the summer.

Audit delays are unheard of. "I can't recall being involved in any decision when we put one off or postponed one for any reason," said Patrick McFarland, Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management. McFarland is the government's longest serving inspector general at 12 years.

Bush now claims that the delay was necessary because personnel changes at the State Board of Administration, including the departure of executive director Tom Herndon, made it impossible to comply with the beginning part of the audit. But, the earlier AP wire story reported Tom Herndon, the pension manager who retired in June, said he saw no need for a postponement. His successor, Coleman Stipanovich, was hardly new to the pension fund; he was Herndon's top deputy. Moreover, neither was asked by the Governor's office if a postponement was needed.

Hence, John Ellis Bush's stated reasons for the delay are contradicted by Herndon and Stipanovich. So, who wanted the audit postponement, and why?

It is also curious that Bush's "request" was described as as urgent and Health and Human Services officials were asked by Bush's office to get the message to Rehnquist, who was at a department reception. Why was the delay so "urgent", and why was the request not made through normal channels, instead of pulling Rehnquist out of a reception to have her order the deputy Inspector General to postpone an audit?

Perhaps the GAO, FBI and possible Congressional investigations will consider the substance of Bush's excuse for the delays, but we doubt it.

In any event, the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, and the FBI-led Integrity Committee of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency are investigating aspects of Rehnquist's conduct. The PCIE monitors the conduct of inspectors general. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the next chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has asked his staff also to look into the matter.

Prediction: The chance that either John Ellis Bush or Janet Rehnquist pay ANY penalty for this incident - less tham zero.

Florida's pension fund has drawn other headlines during Bush's tenure. The State Board of Administration, which runs the fund, has been under scrutiny because it invested and lost $300 million in the bankrupt energy marketing company, Enron. And, at least one Enron official held a fundraiser for John Ellis Bush's reelection bid, though it received minimal media coverage.

A final note, both AP wire stories mention that John Ellis Bush "easily" won reelection, the implication being that there was no need for the Bush's to engage in shenanighans. Well, at the time these events were occurring, a competitive race against Bush was in the offing.

Read the original AP wire story [here] and the November 27 AP story [here].




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