Transcript of Lou Dobbs Dec. 22 2006 program on Sequoia ownership

Aired December 22, 2006 - 18:00 ET

For Original Article

PILGRIM: Federal officials are dropping investigation into the sale of a U.S. voting machine company to Venezuelan businessmen.

Now, the Venezuelans have been under intense pressure to prove that their company did not have ties to the anti-American Chavez government. So, the Venezuelans decided to sell the U.S. company off rather than face more scrutiny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PILGRIM (voice-over): Running for the exits, Venezuelan owned Smartmatic is selling Sequoia, the American electronic voting machine company, and selling it quickly. Under intense review by the Treasury Department for buying the American company, the Venezuelan businessmen suddenly this week, a day before the Christmas weekend, decided it's better to sell than face additional questions.

The timing of the announcement clearly calculated to generate the least press.

DOBBS: Critics of the deal say our nation's very democracy is now for sale.

PILGRIM: For the last six months, this program has challenged the Venezuelan ownership of the third largest voting machine company in America. That furor intensified when it was reveal that Smartmatic is a bewildering corporate structure of multiple holding companies and shell operations all set up off shore for tax reasons.

Though Smartmatic denies any connections to the rogue regime of President Hugo Chavez, even after investigations, the early funding for Smartmatic and connections to Chavez were still unclear. The Treasury Department was investigating.

The Venezuelans say they're selling because of public scrutiny, stating, quote, "given the current climate of the United States, so much public debate over foreign ownership of firms in an area as critical to U.S. infrastructure, electronic technology, we feel it is in the company's best interests to move forward as separate entities without ownership."

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who demanded the investigation, sa ys that's nonsense.

REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D), NEW YORK: What we're talking about here is a company that invested in the critical infrastructure of our country, in this case voting machines, which is a national security issue. And a company that was unwilling to be transparent about their ownership.

If this company could have proved their ownership, they would not be selling it today.