As the AP and others reported yesterday, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) released some telling emails and challenged Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to explain why he was involved in pulling strings to land Carnival Cruise Lines an emergency contract to house Katrina evacuees.
But Jebâs not the only one who needs to answer some questions. Last fall, Carnival veep Terry Thornton testified before Congress that his company didn’t seek a government contract. Rather, the government came to Carnival. But that story doesn’t stand up, now that we know Carnival worked its GOP political connections behind the scenes to get a deal.
Here’s Carnival’s version: The Health and Human Services Department first asked the cruise company on Aug. 31 if it could use its ships for Katrina relief efforts, Thornton testified. âThis was our first contact with the government with respect to the vessels,â he told the House Government Affairs Committee.
“You didn’t seek the government contract. The government came to you, basically, with a solicitation,” Chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.), asked Thornton.
“That’s correct,” Thornton replied.
Apparently, Mr. Thornton, it’s not.