Andersen said "thousands" of e-mails and "large numbers" of paper documents relating to Enron were destroyed after Duncan learned on Oct. 23 of a request by the Securities and Exchange Commission for information on the Enron audit. "Although the firm is still working to collect all the facts, it has learned that at the direction of the lead partner an expedited effort to destroy documents in Houston was undertaken," Andersen said in a statement.They're going DOWN. the previously reported destruction of preliminary drafts of working papers is SOP and while sensationaly *sounding* meant nothing. This if as it sounds is major major major trouble. And certainly reinforces the sentiment out there that enron had a lot to hide.
When they found out the SEC was going to investigate, the least trouble they could get in was destroying some documents - while keeping the documents would have created a worse problem for them.
Firing this guy is just part of the plan; a convenient scapegoat.
The Reuters news service author of this article, Leslie Adler, sure did reveal his/her's positive bias towards "big government to the rescue" mindset with this phrase.
"Powerful" over what?
Why did the author not just state the facts:
"Maryland DemocratSen. Paul Sarbanes, chairman of the Senate Banking Committe, exercising the Senate's jurisdiction granted in Art I, Section 8, Clause 3, of the U.S. Constitution, on Tuesday requested investigations into financial reporting and employee retirement funds in company stock,..."
Just the facts, mam. Just the facts.