Andersen Guilty!

CNN

[Glenn]

Oh.

[Thane_Banquo]

Hell yeah!

[Glenn]

A jury today found accounting firm Arthur Andersen guilty of obstruction of justice. The company was accused of destroying papers relating to the case of failed energy giant Enron.

[KevinDavis]

I'm shocked..

[Glenn]

Hell yeah!

I'm not as enthused as you are. This won't be over for years. Now the torts kick into high gear.

[Glenn]

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A jury Saturday found Arthur Andersen guilty of obstructing justice, all but sealing the fate of the once mighty accounting firm.

After 10 days of deliberations, jurors found Andersen guilty of obstruction for destroying Enron Corp. documents while on notice of a federal investigation. Andersen had claimed that the documents were destroyed as part of its housekeeping duties and not as a ruse to keep Enron documents away from the regulators. Chicago-based Andersen was accused of obstructing justice for destroying Enron documents last year while it knew of a government investigation. Enron, once the nation's seventh-largest company, collapsed under its massive debt load on Dec. 2 when it filed the largest bankruptcy in United States history.

Enron allegedly used thousands of off-the-books partnerships to hide nearly $1 billion in debt and inflate profits. Andersen, as Enron's auditor for 16 years before it was fired, signed off on the energy trader's financial statements.

[Iwo Jima]

I think that Andersen did destroy the documents with the intent to obstruct justice. But I do have a hard time with the concept of assessing criminal liability to a corporation. Civil, yes. Criminal charges against the individuals involved, yes. But criminal against the corporation? No.

I would really like to know what people think about Andersen's attorney Rusty Hardin, who tried this case in a very confrontational (to the prosecution and the judge), melodramatic, shove-it-down-your-throat style. It was a high stakes strategy. (Example: He taunted the prosecutors, calling them whiners, cry babies, etc. in open court.) Did it backfire? Or was Andersen lost anyway?

[Bobby777]

Andersen Guilty!

after Enron, Global Crossing, et al, any other ruling would have been completely untenable ... this was no "accident" or "misstep" ... it was cold and calculated theft and deceit of stockholders ...

[aculeus]

Good news!!!!!

[Zeroisanumber]

Whether or not the Prez is involved, it's clear that Andersen was guilty of obstructing justice. Prez Bush will be able to deflect or disprove any charges leveled against him or his cabinet, but Enron and Andersen both deserve to be hung out to dry.

[Lancey Howard]

After 10 days of deliberations, jurors found Andersen guilty of obstruction for destroying Enron Corp. documents while on notice of a federal investigation. Andersen had claimed that the documents were destroyed as part of its housekeeping duties and not as a ruse to keep Enron documents away from the regulators

After 10 months of deliberations, Congress found the Clinton Administration had done nothing wrong by destroying numerous Clinton scandal documents while on notice of a federal investigation. The Clinton White House had claimed that the documents were destroyed as part of its housekeeping duties and not as a ruse to keep Clinton Administration scandal documents away from the regulators.

[Mo1]

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STOP BY A BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD

[steve50]

The whole point is to punish certain corporations that are defrauding investors, are you in favour of allowing the people involved to continue these business practices, if discovery has a chance of damaging those you support? I would hope not

[paul51]

I can't believe a Freeper would be happy about this. The whole point of the Enron investigation is to implicate President Bush and Republicans in general. If this isn't a true partisan witch hunt, then I don't know what is

Wrong

[sakic]

I can't believe a Freeper would be happy about this. The whole point of the Enron investigation is to implicate President Bush and Republicans in general.

The point is that they broke the law and they're being held accountable for it. I don't care if the Left or Right breaks the law. Prosecute them when they do.

[jrlc]

More crap from the smoke-and-mirror KLINTOON years. Let's sweep out all the trash -- Robert Rubin where are you these days? You must have known all the artifical demand created under your watch in hyping the value of stock -- .com, Arthur Anderson -- read "KLINTOON LEGACY." KLINTOON stock market -- biggest "Pump and Dump" ever done with stock prices.

[steve50]

She seems to be taking the "you're either with us or against us" thing to a whole new level.

[07055]

The point is that they broke the law and they're being held accountable for it. I don't care if the Left or Right breaks the law. Prosecute them when they do.

Amen.

That's the difference between liberals and conservatives.

Liberals don the kneepads for the rapist Bill Clinton simply because he supports abortion and socialism.