Conservatives (Judicial Watch) turn on Bush over Enron

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | 01/12/2002 | Ben Fenton

[Pokey78]

THE White House response to the collapse of Enron, a Texas-based energy company with strong links to the Bush administration, has "shades of Bill Clinton", a conservative watchdog said yesterday.

Judicial Watch, a legal group that pressed Mr Clinton in the latter years of his presidency by investigating every aspect of his personal and professional life, called for a special counsel to investigate the Enron case.

Tom Fitton, the group's president, said: "The White House has a nice little scandal on its hands with Enron and they have only themselves to blame. Their reaction certainly has shades of Bill Clinton." The criticism is an indication of the potential risks of the Enron controversy.

Judicial Watch would normally support a conservative president such as Mr Bush. Enron applied for bankruptcy protection last November after overstating its profits by more than £400 million by hiding huge debts in the accounts of subsidiaries.

Its board is being investigated over allegations that 29 current or former members sold their shares for a total of £785 million in the months before the collapse. Thousands lost jobs and money when the Enron share price collapsed from almost £65 to only a few pence in less than a year.

The Houston-based company has close links to the Bush White House. Kenneth Lay, its chairman, is a friend of both President Bush and his father and was one of the principal fundraisers for the Bush-Cheney election campaign in 1999-2000.

Dick Cheney, the vice-president, had close contacts with Mr Lay when Halliburton, another Houston-based energy company of which he was formerly chief executive, built a baseball stadium for Enron.

Two senior members of the administration, Larry Lindsey, the President's chief economic adviser, and Robert Zoellick, the US trade representative, worked as consultants with Enron before Mr Bush recruited them.

The White House said on Thursday that Mr Lay called on Paul O'Neill, the treasury secretary, and Don Evans, the commerce secretary, to help the company in the days before it collapsed, but added that they had turned him down, despite his close links to the president and his party.

But Mr Fitton yesterday called on the White House to be more open. "Conservatives are very uncomfortable about the relations between the Bush White House and Enron and I doubt you will see many coming forward to defend the conduct, at least so far."

He was particularly critical of Mr Cheney's efforts to prevent the release of the minutes of meetings he and his staff held with Mr Lay and other Enron executives in the process of formulating the administration's energy policy.

[Howlin]

I just could not believe my eyes when I saw old Tony on there. And CNN wonders why their ratings have dropped?

[BUSHdude2000]

I don't know that he has ever called himself Conservative Miss Maple. That was my point in an earlier post. He is non-partisan in my opinion and goes where the money is. Right now, this story is hot. I heard Klayman on the radio today and he was really into this "scandal". Like I said earlier, just like with Drudge, when Klayman was going after Clintoon, the Republicans and Conservatives loved him.

[poet]

Point well taken!!!!

However, Isn't there a question of $2 billion being missing or paid to the execs as golden parachutes? Did any one in the admin know about this in advance and when did they know (a paraphrase, of course)?

The whole point of my post is that Bush better get right on this and meet it head-on publicly or it will destroy his admin if, by, nothing else, innuendo or have you forgotten the lib press has been waiting for something like this?

And please, can the sarcasm and try to discuss things intelligently even if you disagree with me.

[Torie]

It might be a bit of both. The "burning" thing might be a panicked partner, trying to save his lifestyle. When you have a lazy and greedy partner ethically challenged, and a company that wants to hide the ball, the result is a false balance sheet signed off by the CPA firm, and ensuing lawsuits. I have seen it SO many times, including in my office, and including Anderson in particular combined with a crooked client.

[Miss Marple]

Wow, Boise is back, too! Just think, maybe we will get to see another argument by the estimable Mr. Boies who did SO well in front of the Supreme Court. (I hope he has bought a new suit and washed his hair.)

If I wanted to win a case, that is NOT who I would hire. Lay must be desperate.

[habs4ever]

It is strictly financial, as the taxpayer isn't on the hook for this.This isn't the FDIC all over again, or the Keating Five.It was just a montrously levered company that had its balance sheet so skewed in one direction that it it ran out of capital to keep the loans from being called.If it had all these trading profits, it should have been swimming in cash.Not so...

[Deb]

But they made their money in stocks, not production, but don't misunderstand, I was making a blind statement based on the history of Democrat lying and general evil. I will certainly lose my bet if Enron execs are convicted of any wrong-doing. I'm not defending them, I'm banking on the business-hating, Bush-hating past of the Democrat party to state that all facts as presented by the press will prove false.

Steve Cramer spent an hour last night screaming about the Enron witch-hunt and he's a Democrat. He blames Wall Street totally.

[Dale 1]

With Larry and Judicial Watch on the case, anyone who may have done something wrong, is now safe.

[stryker]

I agree they were between a rock and a hard place, but Ashcroft's recusing himself rather than naming a special prosecutor is a sure sign of bad things to come. This is the vital organ the Dems are going to stab repeatedly. Where, they will ask, is Bush's Kenneth Starr. If a clandestine blow job was worth multi-millions in investigatory expenses, how much more is the collapse of a multinational energy conglomerate where the 29 top executives sold their stock for possibly billions of dollars and the employees had their stocks frozen and were made pennyless in retirement?

[Howlin]

In case you haven't been watching, Bush HAS been meeting this head on. He's talked about it the last two days, as have practically every person in the White House.

What more could he do?

[Torie]

Special prosecutors are for when an administration appears not to be in a position to investigate itself. Since so far there is nothing on the administration, and since Ashcrosft recused himself due to prior campaign contributions apparently, at this juncture a special prosecurtor is not in order. Indeed, although I may have missed it, even the most lean and hungry and voracious Dems have not yet called for one. Simple really.

[poet]

So one man daschale controls the agenda and the Prez's "bully pulpit" is of no use? Bush is trying to be all things to all people and he will please no one in the final analysis. He should call dash exactly what he is: an obstructionist. Time to play hardball. He has the public on his side and but long will that last?

[aruanan]

Judicial Watch conservative? Ha ha ha. Judicial Watch is of Larry, by Larry, and for Larry.

[Torie]

Enron was propping up the whole stock market eh? Whatever. But I am laughing hysterically at the throught; it reminds me of that weirdo on Michael Medved today who thought that Bush and OBL where birds of a one winged right wing feather.

[Deb]

You're so right. Poor Bob Novak is so mush-mouthed and addled I can't stand to listen to him, even though he eventually makes good points. And Cliff May was like an inflated clown that Bill Press kept punching.

All of our brilliant street fighters have disappeared or are out of the fire-breathing pundit business. Bob Tyrell (that doesn't look right), David Horowitz, Bill Bennett, Barbara Olson (sniff), Mary Matalin (she was great on Imus this morning, though).

And why isn't Steve Forbes making the rounds? I've only heard his defense of Enron and this whole "scandal", once in the past month...and I can't remember a thing he said.

[Howlin]

There is a rumor that of the billions sucked out of Enron, about $20 billion worth multiplied through derivatives to approximately $600 billion, may have been used to prop up the stock market at key moments in late September and early October 2001.

There is a rumor that that statement is unfounded.

See how that works?

[habs4ever]

This is a financial scandal, only.Enron was more a finance company rather than an energy concern, and thought to grown the income statement the new fangled way rather than nuts and bolts natural gas and electricity delivery.Too mundane, when there's a balance sheet to lever!!Though, trust a Democrat never to understand high finance.Or even low math, too.

[A Citizen Reporter]

"Time to play hardball."

Try to follow what is going on, if you are going to comment on it.

Daschle makes speech last Friday on economy-----calls for tax increase. Bush makes speech on Saturday, BLOWS HIM AWAY. All the Dems run away from Daschle on economic policy. Feinstein more or less calls him stupid. Zell Miller says if they hope to get any dems elected, somebody better zip Dashole's mouth. Some stupid dems try to gin up the Enron story this week, BACKFIRING BIG TIME. Today, Bush appoints Reich and Scalia while congress is in recess, and twists the knife in little tommy. There is no better hardball than this!

[habs4ever]

Too funny!! $100 billion for derivatives doesn't get levered to $600 billion, it gets levered to $3 trillion, and that has to be unwound at some time in the future.That is half of GNP!! It has to be filled, too, and I don't think Goldman Sachs, Salomon or even JP Morgan have the derivatives desks to handle that kind of size.Its as goofy as the idea that Osama shorted airline stocks before 9/11.Where has that rumour gone, huh?? The nonsense the tyros spew about the investment world is absurd, and here's another one.