Harkin failed to reveal connections to big oil

Reports say Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a major oil industry critic, failed to report for two years his wife and a daughter owned large amounts of stock in Conoco, the nation’s fourth largest oil company. Harkin, a democrat, blames an accountant. Iowa Congressman Tom Latham, a republican, can’t say whether an ethics investigation may be needed. Congressman Latham says “honest errors” may have been made, but it’s an issue for the Senate to deal with. A Des Moines Register report says Harkin’s wife, Ruth, serves on Conoco’s board of directors and owns up to 200-thousand dollars in stock, while one of the Senator’s daughters, Amy, has up to 15-thousand dollars in Conoco stock. Senators are required to report such holdings. Both were “inadvertently omitted” according to Harkin. During the presidential campaign, Senator Harkin was highly critical of then-candidates George W-Bush and Dick Cheney for their oil industry ties, calling them the “Texaco Twins.” Radio Iowa called Harkin’s office for comment this morning. A spokesperson was not available.