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.

[Quicksilver]

No, the pasted CNN story ends with "cnnfn" and Vickers comment begins with "There is a rumor ..."

[TLBSHOW]

I WANT THE SOURCE/LINK OF YOUR CNN STORY PLEASE!

[Miss Marple]

I do, however, have confidence in President Bush and his team. I am certain they have anticipated the attacks and are not a bit surprised.

Although I have confidence, I am ANNOYED at having to see these creeps re-surface. NORMAL people would be ashamed of their part in the pst 8 years, but these people BRAG about it. They ARE evil.

[Deb]

I love it when Lieberman says he'll be keeping "politics" out of it! Oh, my sides.

(Did you know his wife was the daughter of Holocaust survivors? I don't think the press has mentioned it lately.)

[Miss Marple]

Did you know he is the Conscience of the Senate? I thought you might not know that, since they haven't told us often enough.

[Torie]

I would be deeply disappointed in the state of the polity, if this sudden tack to windward that Bush should have bailed out Enron, or done some other major surgery, in order to help out the little people at Enron, has any political legs. The tack is so transparent and ludicrous. (Even if Bush were God's favorite child, if he had done so, the political firestorm given Bush's connection to the energy industry and Enron would have been, as some over-hopeful Dem has fantasized over the current state of play, indeed a "perfect storm.") Btw, a couple of my mutual funds aren't doing very well. Just who is going to make ME whole? It is all SO unfair.

[poet]

That's not the point!! The point is that all the 401(k) investors did not have a heads-up so they could sell their shares.

AND, don't assume I listen to cnn ,fox, abx, nbc or any other liberal station. I get my info right off this forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't give a rat's -ss what influence was bought! I'm tired of the double standard applied when your guys/girls do it. Corruption ( IF that's what we have here) is corruption no matter who engages in it!

[Torie]

The federal government should have issued a press release that they though Enron was in more financial trouble than the market had already factored in? Just when should the government have done that, and based on what? And just why should the feds be in the business of issuing such press releases? If you are complaining about the pension laws, yes they should be changed. Pensions should not be holding the employer's stock. That is an inherent conflict of interest. It should be outlawed.

[willyone]

I don't know about this Enron fiasco but except for GWs handling of the war I find little to smile about. Amnesty for illegals, food stamps for illegals, a huge education bill sponsored with Teddy, an anemic tax cut that will never be completed and other things. I was going to start sending money to the Pubbies again but I think I will just hang on to it. I might just as well vote for a DEM. as these RINOS.

[ArneFufkin]

I agree with you about Klayman's agenda. Klayman achieved NOTHING through his various litigation misadventures. He had the one cantankerous judge who kept his windmill tilting alive for a while. He's a really lousy lawyer, a terrible depostion questioner, and I've come to the conclusion that he's just another dishonest D.C. promoter. Like Ariana, Kristol, Morris etc etc. I don't think he's a RAT operative, but I do think he's a totally vacuous con man. He's always the voice of opposition, which will garner attention for his enterprise, especially among MSNBC/CNN outlets and morning shows. He cares about nothing but himself. Like most everyone else in that putrid city.

[Deb]

The rats will try to turn this into another Raytheon "scandal" and drag it out as long as possible, with the press making front page "discoveries" that don't pan out, but aren't meant to. It's all so they can go on every political show and talk about the "appearance of wrong-doing" and the "sleaze factor" and "There must be something dirty going on...look at all the MONEY!".

They love to scream about Clinton-haters not being able to move on, but they never tired of dragging the mutilated corpse of Richard Nixon into the room for the past 30 years. With younger generations just parroting Nixon was Satan, but not really knowing why, the Left needs a fresh Republican head to hang on a spike. Thank God this president is an honest man. They're used to Democrat presidents who are crooks, traitors or peanut farmers.

[PhiKapMom]

The spin is getting ludicrous! They cannot even get little facts right! Just shows how little they know about sports. Stadiums sell the rights to have a sponsors name on the stadium! Those sponsors usually have nothing to do with building anything their name is on! They just anti up the bucks so their name is on whatever venue it is!

[Howlin]

Give Larry a call; he can probably help!

[Torie]

except for GWs handling of the war I find little to smile about

Either your threat to vote for someone else is ersatz, or you didn't vote for Bush last time. It is one or the other IMO, with a high degree of probability.

[The Wizard]

Klayman is a pig if he's attacking Bush

[Howlin]

I'll withhold judgement, but, if the Admin was involved, they MUST be held accountable.

If it's true, I'll be right there with you!

[Torie]

Give Larry a call; he can probably help!

As in empty my wallet?

[Howlin]

Say, does he make them pay upfront?

[Torie]

Say, does he make them pay upfront?

Based on performance, that is the only business plan I would recommend to Larry. Plus arrange to send the money to the Cook Islands in a trust to slow down creditors.