Cheney Defends His Tenure at Halliburton

Vice President Dick Cheney defended his management of Halliburton Co., saying he assumed the oil giant’s insurance would shield it against asbestos lawsuits that have cost hundreds of millions of dollars and helped devalue its stock.

Most of Halliburton’s asbestos claims were inherited from Dresser Industries Inc., which the company acquired for $7.7 billion in 1998.

His appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” was the first time Cheney fielded questions about Halliburton since May 28, when the Securities and Exchange Commission informed the company it was investigating its accounting practices. Cheney was chairman and chief executive of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000.

He said that asbestos “afflicts a great many companies” and that “most of the difficulties arose since I left two years ago.”