Chevron accused of Nixon style dirty tricks operation in Ecuador

In a maneuver reminiscent of Richard Nixon's infamous "dirty tricks" operations, Chevron has posted a series of grainy videos on YouTube in an attempt to corrupt the trial proceedings where the company faces a $27 billion liability for environmental damage, representatives of the indigenous communities in Ecuador charged Tuesday.

Representatives of the communities in Ecuador called for the U.S. Department of Justice and Ecuador's Attorney General to jointly investigate Chevron for its apparent role in working with an individual who tried to bribe government officials in Ecuador, said Pablo Fajardo, the lawyer for the Amazonian communities who accuse the company of dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste into the rainforest.

"The bottom line is that evidence in the trial shows that Chevron is responsible for wrecking Ecuador's rainforest and destroying the lives of thousands of indigenous peoples," said Steven Donziger, an American lawyer who advises the Amazonian communities in the lawsuit, which is taking place in Ecuador at Chevron's insistence after the company submitted numerous affidavits praising Ecuador's courts.

"Nothing Chevron has presented in these videos changes these underlying facts one bit," he added. The legal case will go on. This is a desperate attempt by Chevron to delay the judgment."

After carefully reviewing the videos and transcripts of the videos released by Chevron, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Chevron's hidden cameras produced "not even a scintilla of evidence" that the judge was involved in bribes, "made no sense" about how contracts would be awarded and raised questions about Chevron's own involvement in the bribery scheme perpetrated by an Ecuadorian Chevron contractor and an American businessman.

"There is clear evidence from the videos that individuals associated with Chevron were trying to bribe Ecuadorian government officials to undermine the trial process so the company can avoid paying a judgment," Fajardo said. "Corruption of the trial process by Chevron has become a pattern which we believe extends to the highest levels of the company and which may constitute a violation of criminal laws both in Ecuador and the United States," he added.

Both Fajardo and Donziger called on Chevron to turn over copies of the unedited videos, which were shot secretly using micro-cameras inside a watch and a pen, and to make available corporate officials and outside counsel to answer questions from investigators about their own roles or those of their subordinates in the scheme.

Curiously, Chevron has refused to disclose the whereabouts of the Ecuadorian contractor, Diego Borja, and the American businessman, Wayne Hansen. Chevron claims the pair "innocently" turned over the videos for Chevron's use in June of this year, but Borja had been working for Chevron on the environmental trial during the final eight field inspections conducted in March.

"It is odd that Chevron says Borja tried to bribe government officials, and then they reward him by relocating him to the United States which is often seen as a huge benefit for an Ecuadorian," said Fajardo.

It is unknown who Hansen is, where he lives, or whether he received payments or other benefits from Chevron. Borja and his family have long ties to the company; a cousin works for Chevron, and it believed Borja is now working for Chevron either as an employee or consultant after being relocated by Chevron to an undisclosed location in the U.S.

Instead of immediately giving the so-called evidence of corruption to the authorities, Chevron posted the videos on YouTube yesterday – months after they came into Chevron's possession – because the legal case was winding down after the court recently denied a Chevron attempt to conduct a study that would have added months to the trial process, said Fajardo.

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