JUDICIAL WATCH - NOVEMBER 27 2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Former President Bush Works for International Investment Firm With Ties To Saudi Arabia Company Had Previously Worked with Bin Laden Family Conglomerate (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today announced that it would be filing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the State and Defense Departments in order to obtain documents concerning the Carlyle Group, an international consulting and investment firm which retains former President George H.W. Bush.

The Wall Street Journal reported in September that the former president, the father of President Bush, worked for the bin Laden family business in Saudi Arabia through the Carlyle Group. The senior Bush had met with the bin Laden family at least twice. (Other top Republicans are also associated with the Carlyle group, such as former Secretary of State James A. Baker.) The terrorist leader Osama bin Laden had supposedly been "disowned" by his family, which runs a multi-billion dollar business in Saudi Arabia and was a major investor in the senior Bush's firm. Other reports have questioned whether members of his Saudi family have truly cut off Osama bin Laden. Osama's sister-in-law, in a recent interview with ABC News, said that she believed that members of her family still supported bin Laden.

In the wake of Judicial Watch and other criticism of its ties to the bin Laden family business, the Carlyle Group reportedly no longer does business with the bin Laden conglomerate. Yet it has also been reported that the Group has had significant business contacts with the Saudi Arabian government, which many have criticized for its lack of diligence in reigning in bin Laden and its tepid support for America's war against terrorism.

And documents recently uncovered through Judicial Watch's FOIA to the Department of Defense shows that the Carlyle Group has high-level access to the U.S. government. The documents include a February 15, 2001 letter on Carlyle Group letterhead to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from former Defense Secretaries Frank Carlucci and William Perry, both now with Carlyle Group. The documents also include Secretary Rumsfeld's April 3 response to Messrs. Carlucci and Perry. The letters seemingly discuss the restructuring of the Defense Department. The Carlyle Group is listed in the documents as Defense Department contractor. Copies of the letters will be available on the Judicial Watch Internet site at www.judicialwatch.org.

"It is time for former President Bush to leave the Carlyle Group. The questions raised by his and others involvement with the Saudi-connected firm can only cause problems for the U.S. war effort," stated Judicial Watch Chairman Larry Klayman.

Documents: Letter from Frank Carlucci and William Perry of the Carlyle Group to Donald Rumsfeld

Letter from Donald Rumsfeld to Frank Carlucci and William Perry of the Carlyle Group [ Source: http://www.judicialwatch.org/