"He has a much stronger social conscience than he wants people to think," said Barbara Shook, who has covered Wyatt as a journalist for more than two decades, most recently as the Houston bureau chief for the Energy Intelligence Group. "I never sensed that he was pro-Saddam. He was pro-Iraqi people."
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Although their efforts failed to stop the war, Wyatt and Vincent pressed ahead with their opposition to U.S. policies in Iraq and to the U.N. sanctions.
With malnutrition and child mortality rates skyrocketing, Hussein agreed to allow the U.N. to carry out its oil-for-food program. Started in late 1996, it authorized contracts between the Iraqi government and oil companies for the purchase of Iraqi oil. Money from the sales was then deposited in a U.N. account and used to buy humanitarian goods.
The first company to win approval to buy Iraqi oil was Wyatt's company, Coastal, according to the records contained in Duelfer's report. Vincent's company, Phoenix, followed soon after. Though Duelfer's public report did not name the U.S. companies and individuals involved, citing privacy concerns, congressional sources provided the names to The Times.
From 1996 until the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Wyatt, Vincent or their firms won the right to ship millions of barrels of oil from Iraq. Wyatt or his company pumped 71.8 million barrels of oil under the voucher program at a profit of $22.8 million. Vincent and his firm pumped 7.9 million barrels of oil and made a profit of $3.5 million, the report said.
Wyatt stepped down as head of Coastal in 1997, although he remained a consultant. In his final speech as head of the company he founded, Wyatt used the occasion to denounce unilateral sanctions as harmful to U.S. business -- though he did not mention Iraq by name.
After Wyatt stepped down as chairman, the pace of the Wyatt family political donations more than doubled to about $67,200 per year, according to campaign finance records.
The Wyatts gave to both top Republicans and Democrats, including President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Democratic side and Sen. John McCain and Rep. Tom Delay on the Republican side. About 75% flowed to the Democrats. None went to the Bush family, whom Wyatt disliked, analysts said.
"His differences with both Bushes are well established," one industry analyst said.
