WASHINGTON — In the 14 years since he left government, former CIA director Robert M. Gates has jetted cross-country to advise 10 different companies, assessing issues as varied as Saudi oil drilling, mutual fund performance and restaurant sales at Romano's Macaroni Grill.
"I first sought him out because I considered him to be of exceptional good judgment and intelligence," said Rodney B. Mitchell, president of the Mitchell Group, a Houston investment firm that used Gates as a senior advisor. Impressed with Gates' recent performance as president of Texas A&M University, Mitchell believed Gates offered "pragmatism" to a firm that aims "to exploit the rapidly changing dynamics of world energy markets."
But as Gates awaits Senate confirmation as President Bush's secretary of Defense, ethics watchdogs worry about the revolving door between government and private business that allowed Gates to align himself with defense contractors, investment houses and a global drilling company involved with Vice President Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton Co.
Companies with which Gates has been affiliated have secured hefty no-bid Pentagon contracts, and "you have to wonder if these companies will continue to get around bidding requirements once Gates is secretary," said Alex Knott, political director of the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington-based watchdog group.
Common Cause, another nonprofit watchdog, believes Gates should take steps now to insulate himself, including placing his stock holdings -- some of which he acquired in return for board service -- in a blind trust to avoid conflicts of interest with companies seeking federal work.
A criticized administration
The Bush administration has been dogged by allegations that past corporate affiliations of administration officials led to favored treatment in federal contract awards. Much of the criticism has focused on Cheney's relationship with Houston oil services giant Halliburton, which has secured $1.5 billion in no-bid contracts for reconstruction in Iraq. Cheney was the firm's chief executive and retained Halliburton stock when he became vice president.
The Senate Armed Services Committee required outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to divest himself of defense-related stocks to avoid conflicts. But it allowed him to keep holdings worth as much as $25 million in Gilead Sciences Inc., a California company that developed a drug used to treat bird flu.
