Bush learned of port deal from press

The White House yesterday said President Bush first learned that his agency heads and top advisers had approved a Dubai-owned company’s bid to manage six U.S. ports from press reports after it happened.

A day after Mr. Bush said he would veto any bill that seeks to block the deal, the White House said officials “should have briefed members of Congress sooner” but blamed press reports for distorting the issue and raising questions in the minds of members of Congress.

Spokesman Scott McClellan distanced the president from the decision, saying it was a matter for the 12-member Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). He said none of the Cabinet secretaries and top administration advisers on the panel raised concerns about the bid by Dubai Ports World (DPW).

But Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, the panel’s chairman, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, a panel member, say they didn’t become aware of the deal until after it was approved.

“I involved myself in it as it came to my attention over the course of the last three or four days. I got involved in it after the approval process,” Mr. Snow told reporters yesterday, according to Reuters news agency.

It was not clear yesterday whether CFIUS members attend meetings or send representatives. DPW, a company in the United Arab Emirates, has bid $6.8 billion to take over a British company that runs operations at six U.S. ports, including Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia.

According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, the administration secretly required DPW to cooperate with future U.S. investigations before approving its takeover, but chose to ignore other routine restrictions.

As part of the deal, DPW agreed to reveal records on demand about “foreign operational direction” of its business at U.S. ports, but the company was not required to keep copies of business records on U.S. soil, where they would be subject to court orders, AP reported.

Despite distancing themselves from the decision, Mr. Snow and the White House, which did not reiterate its veto threat yesterday, said that the deal was a correct one and that all national security issues were addressed during this Congress-mandated review process.

“There were no objections raised by any of the departments that are charged with being involved in this process. And that’s why it didn’t rise up to the presidential level,” Mr. McClellan said.

The administration’s push to salvage the deal comes as bipartisan opposition grows in Congress, where lawmakers are threatening to kill the deal legislatively because of homeland security concerns.

Rep. Sue Myrick, a North Carolina Republican and Bush loyalist, wrote the president a letter yesterday.

“Dear Mr. President,” began the one-line letter. “In regards to selling American ports to the United Arab Emirates, not just NO — but HELL NO!”

Earlier in the week, top leaders in the House and the Senate — including every Republican leader — called on Mr. Bush to halt the Dubai deal at least until it could be re-evaluated by Congress. The ports management takeover is scheduled for March 2.

Mr. Bush can order CFIUS to conduct a full, formal 45-day investigation. The committee approved the DPW’s proposal after a less-than-30-day review.

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