Hunting for Facts: State Department Looking Into Ray Hunt's Oil Deal

Daniel Rodrigue Ray Hunt The New York Times today reveals that earlier this week, Harold W. Geisel, Acting Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State, sent several lawmakers a missive in which Geisel revealed his office is investigating just how Dallas's Ray Hunt and Hunt Oil Company scored that...

By Robert Wilonsky

July 25, 2008

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Daniel Rodrigue

Ray Hunt

The New York Times today reveals that earlier this week, Harold W. Geisel, Acting Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State, sent several lawmakers a missive in which Geisel revealed his office is investigating just how Dallas's Ray Hunt and Hunt Oil Company scored that drilling deal with the regional Kurdistan government. At the beginning of July, The Times detailed several e-mails between George W. Bush's good, good pal Ray Hunt, State Department officials and others in the Bush administration concerning Hunt's decision to go into Kurdistan, which infuriated an Iraqi government that has since damned the deal as "illegal." Chuck Schumer -- among the four Democratic senators, including John Kerry, who pushed for the investigation -- is particularly giddy: “If, as alleged, the State Department misrepresented U.S. policy to companies like Hunt, that is highly troubling.” --Robert Wilonsky

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Dallas Observer has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.