The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 06, 2002, Page 7, Image 7
SEC chairman resigns
BY MARCY GORDON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Securities
and Exchange Commission
Chairman Harvey Pitt resigned
under pressure Tuesday night
over a series of political missteps
that had embarrassed the Bush
White House.
In a letter to President Bush,
Pitt said “the turmoil surround
ing my chairmanship” had made
it difficult to do his job. “Rather
than be a burden to you or the
agency, I feel it is in everyone’s
j best interest if I step aside now,
to allow the agency to continue
the important efforts we have
started.”
Three administration officials,
speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the White House
welcomed the resignation of a
regulator who had created sever
al political problems for Bush in
the run-up to Tuesday night’s
elections.
The latest came when Pitt
didn’t share with fellow commis
sioners information about
William Webster, the newly
named chairman of an account
ing industry oversight board, be
fore the agency voted last week
to put the former CIA and FBI di
rector in charge of the panel.
The revelation led SEC com
missioners, including Pitt, to re
quest an internal investigation
Thursday of Webster’s selection -
and renewed the almost daily
drumbeat of calls from
Democrats and other Pitt critics
for his resignation.
A senior White House official
said Bush aides heard over the
weekend that Pitt was inclined
to resign. Neither the president
nor his aides requested the res
ignation, but Pitt called the
White House personnel office
Tuesday afternoon and said he
intended to resign.
There were no objections, thus
Pitt submitted his resignation late
Tuesday afternoon. In it, Pitt said
he thought the controversy was
hurting his ability to lead the
SEC.
The official said Bush won’t
have a replacement immediately.
They had not begun to search for
candidates as of Tuesday night
and expected Senate confirmation
to be difficult in the intense polit
ical climate, the official said.
Pitt has been criticized for
meeting with the heads of com
panies under SEC investigation
and for his close ties to the ac
counting industry — at a time
when the SEC is investigating
major accounting fraud at big
corporations.
In this latest instance, Pitt
withheld information about
Webster’s lead role on the audit
ing committee for U.S.
Technologies, a company facing
investor lawsuits alleging fraud.
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STATE I
Four children killed
in mobile home fire
TIMMONSVILLE (AP) — Four
children between the ages of 11
months and 3 years old were
killed Monday morning in a mo
bile home fire.
Four adults and a 2-year-old
escaped from the fire, but the
toddler was burned on about 50
percent of his body, Florence
County Sheriffs Capt. Todd
Tucker said.
The 2-year-old was taken to
the bum center at the Medical
University of South Carolina.
Florence County Coroner
M.G. “Bubba” Matthews said the
children who died were
Rashawn and Jamyra Lyde,
both 3 years old; Ja’qrya Hart, 2;
and Alexis Hart, 11 months.
Matthews said he was uncertain
of how the children are related.
The children’s great aunt
Barbara Jackson lives next door.
“When we got to this window ~
... only thing we could hear is
one of the kids holler ‘Mom,’ ”
she said.
Chronically failing
schools improve
COLUMBIA (AP) - South
Carolina’s latest school report
card shows several chronically
failing schools have improved,
but educators say they still have
a long way to go.
Seven of 31 schools on a fed
eral list of “underperforming”
schools received better grades
on South Carolina’s rating sys
tem in 2002 compared with the
previous year.
Beaufort Elementary,
Thornwell Elementary in
Darlington and Riverside
Middle in Saluda moved from
the “below average” category to
“average” on this year’s report
card.
McCormick Middle, Sanders
Elementary in Charleston and
Bishopville and Flemming
Intermediates in Lee County
moved from the “unsatisfacto
ry” category to “below aver
age.”
NATION -
v
Officers suspended
over taped beating
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -
Thirteen police officers will be
suspended for participating in
the beating of a robbery suspect
caught on videotape in July 2000,
the city’s police commissioner
said Tuesday.
The suspensions range from
five days to 15 days.
Commissioner Sylvester Johnson
would not divulge the officers’
names and said not all had been
told of the punishments for beat
ing or shooting at Thomas Jones.
High on cocaine and mari
juana, Jones led police on a high
speed chase in a stolen car
through north Philadelphia. He
was stopped, but jumped into a
police cruiser and tried to flee
again.
Police shot him five times and
yanked fiim from the cruiser as
a news crew in a helicopter
taped the arrest. Officers re
peatedly kicked and punched .
Jones, a scene replayed on tele
vision across the country.
High court debates
Calif.’s 3-strikes law
WASHINGTON (AP) - Aeon
flicted Supreme Court debated
Tuesday whether it is unconsti
tutional for states to lock up
shoplifters, burglars or other
petty criminals for life in the
name of public safety.
Justices are considering
striking down California’s three
strikes-you’re-out law, the
toughest in the nation. Their rul
ing, expected next year, could
curb states’ efforts to give long
sentences to revolving-door
criminals or signal that other
states can strengthen their laws.
During Tuesday’s oral argu
ments, some justices seemed re
luctant to interfere with state
punishments, despite concerns
about long sentences given in
minor crimes.
The law requires a sentence
of 25 years to life for any felony
conviction if the defendant has
previously been convicted of two
serious or violent felonies.
WORLD
Israel’s Ariel Sharon
calls early elections
JERUSALEM (AP) - A reluc
tant Ariel Sharon on Tuesday
called early elections for Jan. 28
after the breakup of his fractious
coalition, sending Israel into a
tempestuous, campaign that
threatens further instability in
the Mideast at a time of a possi
ble confrontation with Iraq.
The surprise move also
brought Sharon’s archrival for
Likud leadership, Benjamin
Netanyahu, back into govern
ment as temporary foreign min
ister. Netanyahu, who calls for
the expulsion of Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat, said he
will challenge Sharon for the
party leadership in a primary to
be held within weeks.
The winner of that struggle
will face the Labor Party leader
in the general election. One of
the issues on the table then will
be how . to approach the
Palestinians, whether to em
phasize negotiation or war and
whether to expel Arafat.
Riots spur petition
for referendum
CARACAS, VENEZUELA(AP)
— Venezuela’s government
weighed a petition Tuesday for
a nonbinding referendum on
Hugo Chavez’s presidency as op
ponents charged he had lost con
trol of his government after a
day of street riots.
Opposition lawmaker
Gerardo Blyde questioned the
power of the Venezuela govern
ment during a congressional de
bate on Monday’s violence.
At least 17 people were wound
ed by rubber bullets and more
than 60 others hurt by rocks or
felled by tear gas in the clashes
between Chavez’s supporters and
police and National Guard troops
in downtown Caracas.
The violence began after hun
dreds of Chavez’s supporters
' tried to block opposition
marchers from delivering more
than 2 million signatures to the
National Election Council de
manding the referendum.
-1
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