SEC HAS ITS EYES ON VEEP
By DEBORAH ORIN
July 1, 2002 -- The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday vowed to "go after" Vice President Dick Cheney if an SEC probe finds wrongdoing when he headed Halliburton Corp., the giant oil-field company.
"I head an independent regulatory agency," SEC Chief Harvey Pitt told ABC's "This Week" when asked specifically about Halliburton and Cheney.
Halliburton disclosed last month that the SEC has launched a preliminary investigation of its accounting - specifically of its decision to report more than a $100 million in disputed overrun costs as revenue.
The accounting policy was altered while Cheney was Halliburton's CEO.
Some Democrats have questioned whether Pitt will really take tough action, saying he's too close to the accounting industry and should resign, but Pitt yesterday vowed, "I am going to fix this problem."