Thompson worked for the law firm of
King & Spalding from 1977 to 1982, served as a U.S. Attorney under
the Reagan administration, and returned to King & Spalding as a partner
in 1986. Thompson remained at King & Spalding until his appointment
as Deputy Attorney General in 2001. According to King & Spalding's
Web site, the firm has done extensive work for Enron. King & Spalding's
work for Enron and other energy companies is detailed here. ("Caught
Red-Handed in Lie to American People", http://www.mediawhoresonline.com/)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988
George W. Bush shills for Enron in Argentina -- Neil Bush uses defrauded
investors' money from Silverado to drill for oil in Argentina. ("Don't
Cry for Bush, Argentina (March/April 2000)", http://www.motherjones.com/mother_jones/MA00/argentina.html;
"Bush Friend Arrested for Illegal Arms Trafficking", http://www.thegully.com/essays/argentina/010607bush_menem.html)
A few weeks after the U.S. presidential election in 1988, Terragno
received a phone call from a failed Texas oilman named George W. Bush,
who happened to be the son of the president-elect. "He told me he
had recently returned from a campaign tour with his father," the Argentine
minister recalls. The purpose of the call was clear: to push Terragno
to accept the bid from Enron (http://www.ei.enron.com/presence/latin_america.html)....George
W. wasn't the only Bush plying the family name in Argentina. His brother
Neil had tried to funnel $900,000 in loans from Silverado Savings
and Loan, where he served as a director, into a failed attempt to
drill for oil in Argentina. The S&L; eventually collapsed, costing
taxpayers nearly $1 billion to bail out, and federal regulators banned
Neil from certain banking activities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990
June 22: Bush dumps Harken stock just before $23.2 million loss is
disclosed. ("The Family that Preys Together", http://mediafilter.org/caq/BushFamilyPreys.html)
On June 22, 1990, George Jr. sold two-thirds of his Harken stock for
$848,560 -- a cool 200 percent profit. The move was well timed. One
week after Junior sold his stock, Harken announced a $23.2 million
loss in quarterly earnings and Harken stock dropped sharply, losing
60 percent of its value over the next six months.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996
1996: Republican Gov. Pete Wilson signs legislation to open California's
electricity market to competition. ("Chronology of California's power
crisis",
http://www.sfgate.com)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1997
Gov. Marc Racicot, at the behest of Enron, foists energy deregulation
on the state of Montana. ("Energy karma - For Enron and dereg, what
goes around comes around", http://www.missoulanews.com/News/News.asp?no=2105)
"But here’s the catch. While Enron was making billions selling energy
stability, they were busy pushing a deregulation agenda across the
nation. In Montana, as is well-known, the 1997 Republican-dominated
Legislature, at the urging of then-Governor Marc Racicot, suspended
the rules of the Legislature to introduce and pass the dereg bill
in the last weeks of the session. Suddenly, substituting raw political
power for careful policymaking, Montana found itself one of the few
western states to leap into dereg—and oh, how we now wish we had looked
a lot harder before that tragic leap."
March
Enron hires the former boss of a leading staff official at the Securities
and Exchange Commission to represent it in negotiations with the agency.
In an unheralded five-paragraph order in March 1997, the S.E.C. official,
Barry P. Barbash, gives Enron's foreign operations a broad exemption
from the law — the Investment Company Act of 1940. Had Enron not been
granted the exemption, some of its operations in South America and
in Europe would not have been able to structure financial operations
to both conceal them from investors and shift debt off their books.
("1997 Exemption Set Stage for Enron Woes", http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/23/business/23EXEM.html)
December
Unocal executives fête Taliban ministers at their homes in Texas.
("Oil barons court Taliban in Texas",
http://www.telegraph.co.uk)
"The Islamic warriors appear to have been persuaded to close the deal,
not through delicate negotiation but by old-fashioned Texan hospitality.
Last week Unocal, the Houston-based company bidding to build the 876-mile
pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan, invited the Taliban to visit
them in Texas...The Taliban ministers and their advisers stayed in
a five-star hotel and were chauffeured in a company minibus...The
men, who are accustomed to life without heating, electricity or running
water, were amazed by the luxurious homes of Texan oil barons. Invited
to dinner at the palatial home of Martin Miller, a vice-president
of Unocal, they marvelled at his swimming pool, views of the golf
course and six bathrooms. After a meal of specially prepared halal
meat, rice and Coca-Cola, the hardline fundamentalists - who have
banned women from working and girls from going to school - asked Mr
Miller about his Christmas tree."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More...
http://globalfreepress.org/enrongate_timeline.shtml
posted at http://mediawhoresonline.com/
Jan-20-02, 00:44 AM (ET) -
BUSH'S S.E.C.CHIEF COUNSELED SHREDDING DOCUMENTS
Will Harvey Pitt Be Jailed? Ari Waffles
"The Fox" Now On the Line -- But Will the Media Follow Up?
George W. Bush's Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Harvey
"The Fox" Pitt, could be in line for an indictment and jail-time
over the Enron-Arthur Andersen scandal.
And in a little-noticed exchange during a press briefing last week,
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer pointedly refused to quash
speculation that Pitt could be in very big trouble.
Pitt, before getting the S.E.C. job from Bush, worked for Arthur Andersen
LLB, the troubled accounting firm. In that capacity, Pitt helped
foil efforts buy Clinton S.E.C. chairman Arthur Levitt, Jr., to regulate
auditing firms more closely. Questions have now arisen about how closely
Pitt may have involved in destroying Arthur Andersen documents relating
to Enron.
Previously, Pitt counseled that, short of a subpoena, auditing firms
should shred and delete documents they think might be compromising.
"Each company should have a system of determining the retention
and destruction of documents...," Pitt wrote in a law review article
in 1994. "Ask executives and employees to imagine all their documents
in the hands of a zealous regulator or on the front page of the New
York Times...Obviously, once a subpoena has been issued, or is about
to be issued, any existing document destruction policies should be brought
to an immediate halt."
Shocking? Not in one sense -- for Pitt simply told his clients (including
Andersen) what all white collar defense attorneys advise their clients,
to destroy incriminating documents until the last possible minute.
What's shocking is that George W. Bush would pick -- and the Senate
would approve -- such a shady character to head the S.E.C.
And what's shocking is that Pitt could well end up doing time -- a possibility
that Ari Fleischer himself left open last week at the White House.
Will the news media follow up on the perils of Pitt? Will the
Beltway pundits begin to call for, at the very least, Pitt's immediate
recusal from the Enron and Andersen investigations?
Or will they turn a deaf ear -- even to Ari's not-so-hidden panic?
Official
White House Transcript
Full Story
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
gratuitous (362 posts)
Jan-16-02, 03:53 PM (ET)
"For Our White House Press Corps"
Boy, ain't Ari a stitch? Yesterday it was "Nobody has accused anyone
in the White House of wrongdoing, so I won't answer your questions about
Enron." Today, he says "Okay, you're accusing the administration
of wrongdoing, but I won't answer your questions about Enron because
you're not making specific allegations."
Let us gloss over the fact that it's not up to Ari to decide what the
American people want to know, and move ahead. Perhaps if we come up
with specific allegations, Ari will feel compelled to answer a question
or two:
Specific Allegation #1: Early in 2001, when the idea of requiring
slightly more rigorous reporting standards for money moving through
offshore accounts was being considered, the White House moved quickly
to scotch any such regulations. It has now been revealed that Enron
had several hundred offshore accounts in places like the Cayman Islands,
which don't comply with what reporting regulations there are on the
books. Did someone or anyone in the White House decide to avoid increased
scrutiny based on the fact that Enron was concealing a great deal of
its debt beyond the view of regulators?
Specific Allegation #2: When California was being squeezed by
power companies back in spring 2001, it has been revealed that Enron
representatives met with administration officials who announced the
very next day that they would not enact temporary price caps. Although
several energy companies were taking turns pinching the California power
supply, one of them was indisputably Enron. Was the
administration's refusal to enact price caps done so that Enron could
siphon off a whole boatload of money from the California economy and
cover the shortfall that it eventually had to reveal six months later?
Specific Allegation #3: The economic stimulus package proposed by
the administration last year included a provision to refund every penny
ever collected under the Alternative Minimum Tax. Many large corporations
would have reaped a windfall had that legislation passed, but Enron
would have picked up a cool quarter billion dollars, which might have
plugged the massive hole in its finances. The administration was particularly
strident about the "obstructionism" being practiced by the
Democratic majority in the Senate, and raked the Majority Leader over
the coals in an attempt to ram the "stimulus" package through.
Was this another failed attempt by the administration to bail out Enron
before they had to face the music for cooking their books?
There's three allegations. Surely they point to a few more? What does
Ari have to say about them, now that he has some specific
allegations to answer?
Greed is the creed
The stench that surrounds Enron's collapse must alert Britain's
politicians to the corrupting influence of unregulated capitalism.
Will Hutton
Sunday January 13, 2002
The Observer
American democracy is increasingly a fraud. Money buys votes,
influence and office. Contemporary Washington makes Caligula's Rome
look like a vicar's tea party. American politicians' need for business
donations on a gigantic scale to win their election campaigns now pollutes
the discourse of the country's public life, with business writing public
policy and corrupting everything it touches. And the noxious consequences,
in terms of ideas and business practice, spill over into Britain.
The bankruptcy of the energy trader Enron before Christmas with $40 billion of debts, the largest recorded in history, was spectacular. It had overstated its profits by half a billion dollars over three years and lost more still in private companies set up to enrich the coterie of top executives in schemes undetected by its auditors, Arthur Andersen. They, we learned last week, had happily disposed of potentially incriminating documents and misled Congress. In tougher times, Enron's capacity to hide what we would understand as theft was exhausted - and the company collapsed.
Now the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department, the
details spilling out offer a bird's-eye view of how business is done
in the US, how favours are bought and how political ideas are honed
to serve the interests of the political parties' benefactors. Two members
of Bush's Cabinet - the Commerce Secretary and Attorney-General - have
had to stand aside from the investigations because they received close
to $100,000 in political donations from Enron. Chief executive Ken Lay,
'Kenny Boy' as Bush dubbed his close friend, personally gave Bush $100,000.
More...
http://www.observer.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,632020,00.html
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
RoxanneJ (2287 posts)
Jan-12-02, 07:41 PM (ET) -
"More Enron conflicts of interest: Pitt/SEC
& Walker/GAO"
Seems Pitt and Walker are both ex-Arthur Anderson executives!!!!
Is there any cabinet at the White House where Enron doesn't have it's
tentacles???
I'm providing only a link to this excellent article, because it says
clearly "May not be posted on any internet web site without express
written consent."
This article is a MUST read:
http://www.rense.com/general19/recuses.htm
They've got a real catchy phrase there too:
The Enron Administration
________________________
Every mother is like Moses. She does not enter the promised land. She
prepares a world she will not see.
Pope John Paul VI
More...
http://www.rense.com/general19/recuses.htm
GFP: there's plenty more where that came from... ;->
'We already know that more than 29 Bush administration officials are
former Enron executives or shareholders. We know that Ken Lay and Enron
bankrolled Bush's gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. We know
too that Enron was the second largest contributor to John Ashcroft's
Senate campaign as well; more than $61,000 came from Enron and Lay.'
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/1026258.html
GFP: bet Ari say's 'What Conflict? Don't yall know that we are the
ethical admin, setting NEW tones in the WH' - lol
by protect freedom impeach bush now (158 posts)
Jan-12-02, 05:33 PM (ET)
"Enron met w/ Bush admin 1 day before denying Calif help"
copied from atrios' post at bartcop -
-----------------------------------------
Press should have been all over this when it happened, but...
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/1026258.html
Enron executives have disclosed that they met with the Bush administration
just one day before the administration determined not to assist California
in its Enron-created energy crisis, by not imposing price caps and allowing
Enron to further gouge Californian energy consumers, potentially bankrupting
California energy providers and endangering the stability of the government
of California.
More...
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/1026258.html
...
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
remfan (684 posts)
Jan-12-02, 11:16 PM (ET)
"Enron, eminent domain, SCOTUS & bush"
I confess to not having known what Enron did up until two days ago,
I knew they were 'energy related', but that's about it. When I found
that Enron wanted to gain more control over the power grid in the country
my mind started clicking on something that happened early last year.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/blackout/regulation/ferc.html
Yet just when things were starting to look calmer for the beleaguered
agency, a proposal in the recently announced Bush energy plan could
put FERC back in the hot seat. President Bush has included a recommendation
that would allow the federal government to seize private property for
public use, something that is very controversial in the Republican Party.
Under "eminent domain" authority, FERC could compel the sale
of private land for new electricity transmission lines. The agency currently
has the power to use eminent domain in placing natural gas lines, but
Bush's plan would significantly expand this authority. Expansion
of this power within FERC is strongly opposed by most conservatives
in the Republican Party, who see it as a flagrant expansion of federal
government control.
Current FERC Chairman Herbert is strongly opposed to unilaterally expanding
FERC's federal jurisdiction over transmission lines at the expense of
states' rights. In the past he has supported the Southern Company, a
monopoly utility company that has sought to maintain control of access
to its power lines. This states' rights position is viewed by some
critics, including Enron Corporation, as anti-competitive, and in the
fall of 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case on this issue
brought by Enron.
http://www.electricityforum.com/news/oct01/US_Supreme.htm
The justices actively questioned the three attorneys about the language
in the Federal Power Act addressing state and federal jurisdiction over
electricity sales.
The questioning seemed designed to determine if FERC erred, as Enron
argued, in not asserting authority over all transmission services, or
if the commission properly exercised discretion in asserting its authority,
as the lower court ruled.
But the questioning didn't provide a clear indication as to how the
court will ultimately decide the case.
Justice Antonin Scalia, renowned as being a strict constructionist of
statutory language, appeared to argue both sides on the case, depending
upon whether he was challenging arguments by Malone for New York or
Cohen for Enron.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's statements appeared to support Enron's
position.
"In 1935, we didn't have these interstate grids," O'Connor
said. "Today, with a multi-state grid, it's hard to know how any
transmission across the grid is anything but interstate commerce,"
she said.
At another point, O'Connor asked: "What difference does it make
if transmission is bundled or unbundled?"
Lynne Church, president of the Electric Power Supply Association, which
represents competitive power providers and supported Enron's case before
the court, was optimistic that the court will rule that FERC's authority
is expansive.
"I think Enron won," Church said. "I'm cautiously optimistic
we'll get a good result," said Cohen, Enron's attorney.
==========
The case was heard in October, I think, and SCOTUS should rule on it
this spring. And while not a smoking gun, bush proposed something that
goes against the GOP line in his energy policy that was clearly
to the benefit of Enron.
Conservative society works by breaking down the rational mind and replacing
it with a set of primitive associations that can be activated selectively
by those in power. --- Phil Agre
...
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
RoxanneJ
(2284 posts)
Jan-12-02, 12:02 PM (ET)
"Here's the smoking gun on Enron, folks"
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After Enron Corp. used its vast web of political
connections to win December 2000 passage of commodities trading legislation
that helped the company shield its energy trading activities from government
scrutiny, California’s energy crisis suddenly took a dramatic turn
for the worse as artificial supply shortages led to frequent rolling
blackouts, according to a new Public Citizen report released Friday.
The legislation reducing government oversight of energy trading was muscled
through Congress — without a Senate committee hearing —
with the aid of U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas. Gramm was chairman of the Senate
Banking Committee, which had jurisdiction over the
legislation he co-sponsored, but he chose to bypass his committee, and the bill
was quietly tacked onto a "must-pass" appropriations bill
late in the session. Gramm’s wife, Wendy Gramm, also aided Enron’s
rise to power. As chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, she pushed through a key regulatory exemption on Jan. 14, 1993,
just as she was about to leave office. Five weeks later,
she joined Enron’s board of directors, where she served on the board’s
audit committee and had access to key financial information about
the company.
Enron took advantage of lax government oversight and formed a complex web of
more than 2,800 subsidiaries — 874 of which were
located in offshore tax and banking regulation havens, mostly in the
Cayman Islands. Upon assuming office in 2001, Bush — who has
accepted $2 million from Enron during his political career and counts
Enron chief executive Kenneth Lay as a close personal friend —
scrapped plans put into place by former President Bill Clinton to limit
the ability of corporations to effectively use these offshore
havens. The action came at the height of high West Coast energy prices,
which would have allowed Enron to funnel billions in excess
profits to offshore accounts.
More...
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=983
________________________
Every mother is like Moses. She does not enter the promised land. She prepares
a world she will not see.
Pope John Paul VI
...
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
DemoTex (1059 posts)
Jan-16-02, 08:56 AM (ET)
"Is the judiciary totally tainted by Enron?"
“The federal judge overseeing a host of shareholder lawsuits against
Enron Corp. recused herself from the case, according to an order made
public on Monday. U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal, in a one-page order,
wrote simply that ``the undersigned judge is withdrawing from
these cases,'' giving no explanation whatsoever for her decision.”
(More)
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020114/n14233871_1.html
Judge Lee Rosenthal was an appointee of Bu$h I, and at one time worked
in the Houston law firm of James Baker. The tally so far is US
Attorney General A$hcroft, Texas Attorney General Cornyn, and Federal
Judge Rosenthal. Any I missed? It's getting damn hard to buy a
good judge nowadays!
...
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
leave_no_millionaire_behind (180 posts)
Jan-16-02, 07:02 PM (ET)
"Jeb's Fla. Pension Fund Loses $300 Million...Fund Administrator
an Enron Director!"
The wealthy and powerful, because they are a small segment of the population,
move in the same small circles. They look out for each
other, despite their competitiveness, thus ensuring they all retain
their riches -- while further enriching themselves off the "little
people."
The immolation of Enron and the malfeasance of Alliance Capital Management
are perfect examples.
As reported in the Sunday, January 13, edition of the Palm Beach Post,
Florida lost more than $300 million from it’s state pension fund
due
to stock losses after Enron’s collapse.
More...
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/01/011402_Florida_Enron_Alliance.html
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
NNN0LHI (1575 posts)
Jan-16-02, 08:18 AM (ET)
"Bush administration refuses to disclose its contacts with Enron"
Washington - The Bush administration feels under no obligation to catalog
all of its contacts with Enron and will resist any "fishing
expedition" aimed at forcing such disclosure, White House spokesman
Ari Fleischer said yesterday.
Fleischer also said the Enron affair was of "a totally different
nature" than the Whitewater controversy that embroiled former President
Bill
Clinton because "nobody has made any suggestions of wrongdoing
by anybody in the White House."
<snip>
Over the past six days, the administration has revealed that top Enron
executives called Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, Treasury
Undersecretary Peter Fisher, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and White
House Budget Director Mitch Daniels. The calls were made in late
October and early November, when Enron was spiraling toward bankruptcy.
Earlier this month, Vice President Dick Cheney's office reluctantly
disclosed - under prodding by Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the
ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee - that he
or his staffers on an energy policy task force had six meetings
with Enron executives last year.
<snip>
But Fleischer said that while the administration will respond to specific
questions, especially if they involve allegations of wrongdoing, it
does
not feel obligated to explain - or even to investigate internally -
the totality of its contacts with the Houston-based company.<snip>
When asked how investigators could possibly know if there were any wrongdoing
if they did not first know about the contact, Fleischer said,
"And that is the difference between an open-ended fishing expedition
and answering specific questions when somebody has a suggestion of
wrongdoing."
<snip>
...more...
http://www.newsday.com
SOS (215 posts) Jan-16-02, 12:15 PM (ET)
Reply to post #8
25. "Cover-up"
The Bush gang keeps saying that they did nothing to help Kenny Boy in
September-December. So what? The real questions are what was going on
between January and September. The focus is in the wrong place. What
was the administrations role in ripping off California?
Did Bush call Ridge in PA at Kenny's request? Did Cheney's top secret
energy meetings give payback to Enron? Forget the collapse.
By November they all knew it was going down and had already started
"distancing" themselves.
ignatius (993 posts) Jan-16-02, 01:02 PM (ET)
Reply to post #25
33. "SOS, I think you are right."
Lay has most likely been offered a pardon by Bush and co., has already
made his billions, so the focus needs to be on what happened in California
and who is the benefactor of the demise of Enron?
How to create a phony power crisis and an interview with Curtis Herbert
who was head of FERC from 1-01 and who was replace in 9-01 by a hand
picked Lay appointee are 2 good reads.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/blackout/interviews/hebert.html
http://www.citizens-at-large.com/0201/phony_crisis.html
Dinergy, which is 26% owned by Chevron, was able to acquire the 17,000
mile Northern Natural Gas Company pipelines without the merger with
Enron.
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0203/ridgeway.php
www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=945
...
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
zan (2554 posts)
Jan-16-02, 02:54 PM (ET)
"Law Firm that Structured Enron Partnerships Has Personal Ties
to Bush"
From a 1/16 Wall Street Journal article titled "Vinson &
Elkins Discounted Warnings by Employee About Dubious Dealings"
"A venerable and politically connected law firm advised Enron Corp.
officials not to worry about a company employee's warnings of
questionable accounting, based on an inquiry that only canvassed Enron
executives and its accountants at Arthur Andersen LLP.
The report by Vinson & Elkins partner Max Hendricks III, a copy
of which was obtained by The Wall Street Journal, concluded that Enron's
practice of forming special-purpose entities to keep debt off its books
was "creative and aggressive," but that "no one has reason
to
believe that it is inappropriate from a technical standpoint."
In fact, the subsequent widespread disclosure of those partnerships
last fall fueled Enron 's downward spiral toward a bankruptcy filing,
lawsuits and now government inquiries -- including a federal criminal
investigation. The Enron executive whose complaints prompted the
Vinson & Elkins review also warned, in an August letter to Enron
's chairman, against using Vinson & Elkins to vet her concerns because
she believed there was a conflict of interest.
Vinson partner Ronald Astin also was involved in structuring some of
the partnerships, according to an Enron source."
(snip)
-----------------
The article also goes on to point out that:
Vinson & Elkins is one of bunnypants' biggest political patrons,
with 165 of the firm's 341 partners contributing over $200,000 to the
"bunnypants for president" campaign in 2000.
One of the firm's partners, Thomas Marinis Jr., is shrub's boyhood friend.
Alberto Gonzales, shrub's white house counsel, comes from Vinson &
Elkins.
Commerce Department counsel Theodore Kassinger, who reportedly helped
his boss, Commerce Secretary Don Evans, decide not to help
Enron after Lay called and asked for a bail out not only used to work
for Vinson & Elkins as an attorney but did work specifically for
Enron.
------------------
My favorite quote in the entire article -- and maybe the quote of the
year:
White House spokesman Dan Bartlett says he is unaware of any contacts
between Vinson & Elkins attorneys and administration officials about
Enron. "One thing is clear," he adds. "This administration
has taken no action to benefit or to attempt to help the Enron company."
DemoTex (1061 posts)
Jan-16-02, 03:57 PM (ET)
4. "Here's a link that will curl your whiskers!!! James Baker's
law firm, too."
“HOUSTON - Enron Global Power & Pipelines L.L.C. (EPP) today
announced that EPP's Oversight Committee has retained Dillon, Read &
Co. as its financial advisor and Baker & Botts, L.L.P., as its legal
counsel in connection with the evaluation of the previously-announced
proposal by Enron Corp. to merge EPP into Enron.”
(MORE)
http://www.enron.com/corp/pressroom/releases/1997/72ovrsit.html
There it is from Enron's pressroom. James Baker's Baker & Botts
worked for Enron too. Anybody in the least bit surprised?
DemoTex (1061 posts)
Jan-16-02, 04:00 PM (ET)
5. "Link with info on Vinson & Elkins"
"There are a wide variety of responses to the energy industry amongst
Houston firms. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. for example, has a
long-standing and productive relationship with Enron, the aggressively
expanding Houston energy corporation. Despite the firm's
formidable client base, Enron has an importance for Vinson & Elkins
L.L.P. that no single client has for Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
or Baker
& Botts, L.L.P. - though Exxon Corporation and Pennzoil Company
provide Baker & Botts, L.L.P. with some very significant work. Vinson
&
Elkins L.L.P. has traditionally been associated with oil and gas, but
now has a greater diversity of expertise. The firm has 171 attorneys
in
its Business & International group and eight partners and ten non-partners
in its Energy practice group."
(More)
http://www.icclaw.com/us500/edit/ho7.htm
susu369 (1409 posts)
Jan-16-02, 04:47 PM (ET)
7. "Here is a link"
http://www.msnbc.com/news/688691.asp
This is most fascinating with the Alberto Gonzales connection. No wonder
White House counsel Gonzales stonewalled with the release of
the Cheney energy meetings to GAO. Gonzales also came up with the executive
privilege game plan, I'm pretty sure. And I know he was
a participant in Funeralgate.
Karma can be a bitch.
The Magistrate (304 posts)
Jan-16-02, 09:11 PM (ET)
38. "Keep Your Eyes On The Ball In This Matter"
It is of no importance whatever that, at the last moment, nothing was
done to avert Enron bankruptcy. The enemy's attempts to deflect
interest to this non-issue non-event is a desperate attempt at distraction,
and will sizzle to nothing like spit on a griddle once the
investigatory heat is turned up in the Senate.
Concerning the thief Mr. Lay's bought Bush, two matters are of paramount
concern.
First, the immense influence the thief Mr. Lay, by buying Bush,
gained in national energy policy after the '00 Coup: incorporation of
the
thief Mr. Lay's lobbying agenda in the Cheney looters' blueprint; the
thief Mr. Lay's veto over appointments to the F.E.R.C.; the
exemption of the thief Mr. Lay's speculative energy trades from any
regulatory oversight, giving the green light for the great California
gouge.
Second, the pervasive stench of criminality and purchased political
influence wafting over the whole affair already, and certain to grow
ever more dense and foully perfumed in future. No one found in such
a den of thieves, or even near it, or to be friends with all the miscreants
caught there, can ever again trumpet his integrity, his values, to any
wide response but cat-calls.
Remember:
"I did not have financial relations with that man...Mr. Lay!"
When an official strove to make a ruler wealthy, the
Master exclaimed: "He is nothing to do with me! You may attack
him openly, beating drums!"
"An election differs from a civil war only as
the bloodless surrender of a force outnumbered in the field differs
from Waterloo."
"Political action is the art of getting people to think your thoughts,
and think them their own as they do. It succeeds when the beholder’s
response is, that’s just what I think! In electoral politics, the
group whose political lines evoke the most such responses among the
people wins."
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
khephra (10068 posts)
Jan-12-02, 06:06 PM (ET)
"Audacious Climb to Success Ended in a Dizzying Plunge"
Not long ago, the Enron Corporation (news/quote)'s name was part of
the lexicon of corporate and political power. The company's contacts
and influence in the White House and Congress bred envy among competitors.
It was a driving force behind a radical shift in the nation's energy
policy, and its fortune seemed guaranteed for years.
But in a matter of weeks, Enron has been transformed into shorthand
for a corporate scandal, one that has engulfed company executives and
Wall Street accountants, raised questions for politicians and regulators
in Washington, and cost employees and other shareholders tens of billions
of dollars as the company tumbled into bankruptcy protection.
Yet much about Enron — how the business operated and how it failed
— has remained largely unknown. How could America's seventh-biggest
corporation, run and staffed by so many smart people, evaporate virtually
overnight? Who got rich off the deals that eventually crippled the company,
leaving thousands suffering? Was this downfall the result of crime or
spectacular blunders?
And finally, who in industry and government knew what, and when?
MORE..................
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/business/13ENRO.html
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by RBHam (59 posts)
Jan-10-02, 05:01 AM (ET) -
"New York Times defends Bush on links
to Enron corporate fraud"
Excerpt:
Then the Times arrives at its central theme: “Democrats ... should
resist the temptation to use the Enron saga for cheap political gain.
Talk of a ‘cancer on the presidency’ and of a ‘Bush Whitewater’
is unwarranted at this point, and threatens to trivialize and unduly
politicize an inquiry vital to the health of the American economy.”
One has to rub one’s eyes in disbelief. This comes from the newspaper
that helped launch Whitewater—with a notorious article by Jeff
Gerth in March 1992—and elevate it into a national scandal. Countless
editorials appeared in the Times over the years portraying Whitewater
as of monumental significance and declaring that every other scandal
and misstep of the Clinton administration somehow flowed from it.
Looked at objectively, Whitewater was small change. The real estate
scheme was liquidated years before Clinton entered the White House and
involved a failed investment, on the Clintons’ part, of less than
$100,000. It had no financial or political significance until the American
media, led by the Times, and Clinton’s far-right political opponents,
seized on it as a pretext to undermine the Democratic administration.
More...
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jan2002/enro-j10.shtml
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by Tashtego (11 posts)
Jan-02-02, 12:39 PM (ET) -
"Enron Heads KNEW of partnerships..."
(snip)...
Top Enron Corp. officials knew about the financial partnerships that
fueled the former energy-trading giant's downfall, and were aware of
the
possible conflict-of-interest issues surrounding its former chief financial
officer's involvement in them, The Wall Street Journal reported on
Wednesday.
Internal documents indicate that the partnerships were viewed as essential
to maintaining Enron's rapid growth rate, the newspaper said in its
online edition.
The documents also confirm the theory that top officials, including
chairman Kenneth Lay and former president Jeffrey Skilling, were very
involved with setting up and overseeing the partnerships, it added.
(snip)...
Here's the link:
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020102/n02339844_1.html
If true, it makes it more difficult to pin it all on the CFO. There's
going to be one hell of a paper trail in this mess. In keeping with
the old adage "follow the money", I'll say once again that
the members of the Partnerships might dictate whether this scandal remains
on the Business pages or is covered out of the Washington Bureau.
Best Regards,
Tashtego
More...
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020102/n02339844_1.html
RoxanneJ (2056 posts)
Jan-05-02, 12:54 PM (ET)
"Enron execs approved cooking books"
Enron planned to continue making "significant capital investments.
... some of which would not generate cash flow or earnings for a number
of years," the document said.
Out of such needs were born in 1999 the so-called LJM partnerships,
which were run by Fastow. The Enron documents show that an early transaction
involved the hedging of the value of an Enron investment in Rhythms
NetConnections Inc., a data-communications company.
According to one document, Fastow discussed how Enron could protect
the value of that holding through a complicated swap arrangement that
also involved Enron stock and a $50 million LJM payment. In a filing
last November with the SEC, Enron said that it had incorrectly accounted
for the Rhythms/LJM transaction. As a result, Enron retroactively reduced
its reported net income for 1999 and 2000 by about $100 million, or
around 5 percent.
The internal documents show that the board and top management were
aware of the possible conflicts of interests in having Enron's chief
financial officer running partnerships that eventually did hundreds
of millions of dollars of business with the company. One document, labeled
as part of a June 1999 presentation to Enron's board, also laid out
the huge profit potential in Fastow's partnership compensation formula,
under which he stood to reap as much as half of partnership profits
in addition to management fees. Enron has estimated that Fastow made
more than $30 million from his partnership activities.
To avoid potential conflicts of interests on Fastow's part, Enron set
up a review procedure for any Enron deals with the partnerships. Among
other things, all transactions had to be approved by Skilling and two
other senior Enron officials, according to one of the company
documents.
More...
http://www.contracostatimes.com/biztech/stories_business/oenron_20020103.htm
Uh oh, the dummies were so cocky, they signed their names as approval.
Anyone have any doubt who the "two other senior Enron officials"
might have been? Can you spell L-a-y?
posted at http://www.mediawhoresonline.com
Meet Thomas "Enron" White
Thomas
E. "Enron" White was appointed Secretary of the Army by George
W. Bush last spring. A West Point graduate and distinguished veteran
officer of the Vietnam War, Secretary White made his career not in the
military but in the private sector -- as one of the chief honchos at
the now disgraced and bankrupt Enron Corporation.
As Chairman and C.E.O. of Enron Operations Corporation and Vice-Chairman
of Enron Energy Services, White was in charge of capital management
and facilities management.
He also became a very rich man.
According to last year's company statements, White owned
- Enron Corporation common stock valued at between $25 and $50 million,
that paid over $5 million in dividends
and capital gains
- Enron Corporation stock options valued at between $25
and $50 million, that paid between $100,000
and $1 million in capital gains
- An Enron Corporation Cash Balance Retirement Account valued between
$100,000 and $250,000
- An Enron Corporation-DLJ Private Equity Partners Fund II that paid
$5,516,131.08 in salary.
- An Enron Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Defined Contribution Plan
Managed by Enron valued between $1 million and
$5 million
- An Enron Phantom Stock Award valued at between
$5 million and $25 million
- An Enron Retirement Account (Enron Stock) worth less than $1,000
Not bad, huh! But there's more!!!
http://globalfreepress.org/thomas_white_enron_head.shtml
and other players here
http://www.mediawhoresonline.net/enronannals.htm
Secretary of
Army Thomas White Alters Website To Hide Leading Role in Enron
Thomas E. White left the Enron Corporation last year to become George Bush's Secretary of the Army. He was sworn in on May 31, 2001. Soon thereafter his 'Official Biography' was put up on the US Department of the Army's website.
Secretary White was proud of his long-time leading role in the Bush family's favorite corporation. And it showed in his 'Official Biography':
"Prior to his appointment as Secretary of the Army, Secretary White served as Vice Chairman of Enron Energy Services, the Enron Corporation subsidiary responsible for providing energy outsource solutions to commercial and industrial customers throughout the United States. Mr. White was responsible for the delivery component of energy management services, which included commodity management; purchasing, maintaining, and operating energy assets; developing and implementing energy information services; capital management; and facilities management. "
"Secretary White also served as a member of Enron's Executive Committee and was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Enron Operations Corporation. He was also responsible for the Enron Engineering and Construction Company, which managed an extensive construction portfolio with domestic and international projects."
White had just cashed in $12.1 million in Enron stock and remained close with 'Kenny Boy' Lay and other Enron executives.
Then the shit hit the fan.
And now the Secretary of the Army's 'Official Biography' has been altered - and White's Enron role - moved to the tail end - is reduced to:
"From 1990 to 2001, Mr. White was employed by Enron Corporation and held various senior executive positions."
###
Thanks to Google.com's cache of old websites you can see for yourself:
Before: http://www.google.com/search?q=cache
After: http://www.army.mil/leaders/Secarmy/bio.htm
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
Nancy Waterman (296 posts)
Mar-26-02, 10:16 AM (ET) - 
Sec. of Army White robbed taxpayers with Enron deals
News item: "Army Chief's Jet Use Questioned."
The Los Angeles Times reports "Army Secretary Thomas E. White
and his wife flew to Colorado on an Army jet this month and closed
on the sale of their Aspen house, according to Army officials and
sources in Colorado."
This isn't the real story. This is the cover story. Not
even close. The Bush Administration wants to quietly shuffle White
off the stage, saying he showed "bad judgment" in using an Army jet
for personal use.
News item: "Army Chief Rebuked for Keeping Ties to Enron"
The Los Angeles Times reported March 7, 2002: "
spent 11 years at Enron, accruing millions of dollars in company stock.
Before joining the administration, he was vice chairman of Enron Energy
Services, whose accounting practices have come under scrutiny."
That's another side issue. The real story is that White steered
long-term contracts to Enron, and since Enron can't perform on the
contracts, the taxpayers are out $millions.
A Judge Advocate General Officer at the Department of the Army
responsible for energy contracts at military bases told my source
that Army Secretary White renegotiated several such contracts. White
gave contracts to Enron, including those at West Point and other New
York State defense establishments.
White directed the Army to pay Enron in advance of service,
and now Enron will never perform on those contracts. Taxpayers lost
$millions when White handed $millions of taxpayer dollars to his former
colleagues at Enron for nothing. Worst of all, Enron's bankruptcy
created major logistical problems, undermining our national defense.
http://www.liberalslant.com/LS4.htm
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by CatWoman (2013 posts)
Dec-14-01, 11:20 AM (ET)
"Rep. Waxman wants your input on Enron Corp. Know anything?"
At the direction of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, the Special Investigations
Division of the Committee's minority staff is investigating allegations
of misconduct at Enron Corp., including fraud, mismanagement, self-dealing,
and improper political activities.
More...
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/enron_tip.htm
No one can make you feel inferior without your permission -- Eleanor Roosevelt
...
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by NNN0LHI (1468 posts)
Jan-10-02, 09:43 PM (ET)
"Waxman: Bush did nothing to protect 1000's of ENRON's workers"
<snip>
Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who already has been seeking
information about contacts between the White House and Enron, questioned
whether the Bush administration could have done more to help the company
and its employees. "The White House had knowledge that Enron
was likely to collapse but did nothing to try to protect innocent
employees and shareholders who ultimately lost their life savings,"
he said in a statement. "I am deeply troubled that the White
House stood by and let this happen to thousands of families."
Bush, who worked in the oil industry and has known Enron's chairman
since he was governor of Texas, appeared to distance himself from Lay.<snip>
...more...
Click
to Story
Waxman letter to Ashcroft
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/pdfs/pdf_inves/pdf_energy_cheney_chrono_jan_10.pdf
Waxman's letter to Paul O'Neill
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/pdfs/pdf_inves/pdf_admin_enron_jan_11_let.pdf
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by Tashtego (5 posts)
Dec-14-01, 04:16 PM (ET)
"Fortune mag wonders if someone's going to jail?"
Will either the House or Senate dig deep enough to uncover who the
investors were in the off-Balance Sheet partnerships used to hide Enron's
debt? Who will wind up being Enron's Bill Casy?
More...
http://www.fortune.com/indexw.jhtml?channel=artcol.jhtml&doc_id=205595
...
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by zan (2519 posts)
Jan-10-02, 03:20 PM (ET)
"Enron Auditor says "oops, we destroyed our Enron audit
files"
The Bush empire strikes back...
It appears that Arthur Anderson, in a grotesque violation of best practices
(not to mention morality) destroyed it's Enron auditing records...the
paper ones and the computer ones...
Arthur Andersen Tells Investigators Enron Files Were Destroyed
By Neil Roland
Washington, Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Arthur Andersen LLP, Enron Corp.'s
auditor, said employees disposed of or deleted "a significant but
undetermined number" of documents relating to its audit of the
now-bankrupt energy trader.
The documents, including electronic files, paper documents and correspondence,
may be relevant to investigations of Enron's bankruptcy by the Securities
and Exchange Commission, the Justice Department, and six congressional
committees. Employees "involved with the Enron engagement"
disposed of the documents, the fifth largest U.S. accounting firm said.
more...
Click
Here
...
WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee on Thursday said accounting firm Andersen destroyed
``thousands'' of documents related to its auditing of fallen energy
giant Enron Corp. (NYSE:ENE - news), and should be prosecuted if it
acted intentionally.
``Anyone that destroys records to try to subvert our investigation
should be prosecuted,'' said Rep. Billy Tauzin of Louisiana, referring
to Andersen, speaking through a spokesman.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020110/wat025584_1.html
WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The top cop at the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission on Thursday called the destruction of Enron Corp.
(NYSE:ENE - news) documents by accounting firm Andersen ``extremely
serious'' and the SEC would not be deterred from its investigation.
``Destruction of documents is obviously an extremely serious matter.
Documents are an essential ingredient in our investigations,'' Stephen
Cutler, the SEC's director of enforcement, said in a statement read
by an SEC spokesman.
``The destruction of documents by Arthur Andersen will not deter us
from pursuit of our investigation and will be included within the scope
of our investigation.''
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020110/n10191653_1.html
...
by Solly Mack (178 posts)
Jan-10-02, 10:12 PM (ET)
85. "Arthur Anderson is a Bush Pioneer"
Link: http://www.commoncause.org/soft_money/study99/chart8.html
also, back in December of last year, AA claimed to have gone over the
books to assure everyone that ENRON's (books) were accurate ........so
it would seem they had these so-called lost papers just over a month
ago. Here's the link to that story...
http://www.jhunewsletter.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2001/12/07/3c0f9b6b2379e
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by DisgustipatedinCA (41 posts)
Dec-11-01, 06:23 PM (ET)
"Enron Officials Snub Congress"
http://www.salon.com/tech/wire/2001/12/11/enron_congress/index.html
(cache)
At Enron's headquarters in Houston, spokeswoman Karen Denne said neither Chairman and Chief Executive
Kenneth Lay, who was invited by the lawmakers, nor any other Enron representatives will testify Wednesday.
"We don't believe that we would be able to adequately serve the interests
of the committee while at the same time we're trying to serve the interests
of our creditors' shareholders, and former and current employees," Denne
told Dow Jones Newswires.
More...
Sanders (VT) rips them a new one - by remfan and RoscoeNOBUSH
- http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011211/ts/enron_congress_5.html
- http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011211/bs/enron_congress_5.html
(same AP story as Salon, but a little more detail)
Newsweek Quote Calls Out Dems! - by Democat
This is from the new issue of Newsweek, the one with Walker on the cover.
Talking about Enron's ties to the White
House and their ties to the Republican Party, the Newsweek writer says,
"...the juicy stuff probably won't show up
until the Democrats get in gear."
Come on Democrats, get in gear!
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by RoxanneJ (1545 posts)
Dec-11-01, 03:24 PM (ET)
"Connect the Enron dots to Bush"
Bush should be called as a witness in the congressional hearings scheduled to unravel this mess. One thing that
should come up in the hearings is then-Gov. Bush's October 1997 telephone call on behalf of Lay to
then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to help Enron crack into the tightly regulated Pennsylvania electricity market.
"I called George W. to kind of tell him what was going on," Lay told the New York Times about the 1997 phone call,
"and I said that it would be very helpful to Enron, which is obviously a large company in the state of Texas, if he
could just call the governor and tell him is a serious company, this is a professional company, a good company."
Since we now know Enron lacked those virtues, it's clear Bush was used to sell a bill of goods to the unsuspecting
Pennsylvania folks.
http://www.latimes.com (cache)
...
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by protect freedom impeach bush now (133 posts)
Jan-10-02, 02:33 PM (ET) -
Enron Judge Rosenthal = Baker/Carlyle law firm
Judge: Enron Funds Could Be Frozen
By KRISTEN HAYS
Associated Press Writer
January 9, 2002, 6:25 PM EST
HOUSTON -- A federal judge says she has the authority to freeze
proceeds of more than $1 billion allegedly gained by top Enron Corp.
officials who sold millions of shares before the energy giant collapsed.
But U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal in Houston also said in
a ruling issued Wednesday that lawyers for Amalgamated Bank and other
plaintiffs need to present a stronger argument to convince her to freeze
those proceeds.... (end of quote). >>
More...
http://www.newsday.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-enron0109jan09.story
Not only that this is what I have found out through search, I was
not surprized....
PRESS RELEASE (for release Tuesday, May 29, 200É =
Search
(< google search results in online text version of uscourts.gov PDF
file in case you don't have a PDF reader)
Here is a paste I made from the file & highlighted what caught my
eye....
Judge Lee Hyman Rosenthal
Lee H. Rosenthal is a United States District Judge for the Southern
District of Texas. Judge
Rosenthal received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago
(1974) and her J.D.
from the University of Chicago Law School (1977). After law school she
clerked for the Honorable
John R. Brown, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Judge
Rosenthal practiced in
Houston with Baker & Botts until her appointment to the federal
bench by President Bush. She is a member of the federal Advisory
Committee on Civil Rules and serves as chair of its Class Actions
Subcommittee. Judge Rosenthal is also a member of the Board of Directors
for the Manual For Complex Litigation.
I then wondered if this Baker by chance was James Baker so I entered
this....
Google Search: Baker & Botts James Baker = http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Baker+%26+Botts+James+Baker&btnG=Google+Search
>
Here is TOP RESULTS of google search >
James A. Baker, III =
http://www.sddt.com/features/convention/bios/jab.html
... James A. Baker, III has served in senior government ... a senior
partner in the law firm of Baker & Botts, senior counselor to The
Carlyle Group, and ...
Posted by Rabideau @ http://DemocraticUnderground.com
Here are a few articles that might be helpful to you.
That's just a primer. There's tons of more stuff. However, it's unlikely you'll find a "silver bullet" on Bush. His exposure right now is limited, I think, to the intense and unseemly connections between his administration, himself and Enron Corp. Whether there's more to it, we'll have to wait and see. One avenue that hasn't, as far as I know, received that much press is the role of the offshore partnerships with which Enron hid debts. You may want to go to http://www.freeedgar.com/ and look up Enron's financial filings with the SEC for more on this. Certainly, the outrageous nature of this action has received much press, but it's specifics and ties to any legislation (supported or introduced by Bush? I seem to remember a recent bill asking for more leeway for off shore subsidiaries?? Did that bill take Enron as a model?).
Have fun. It's a tangled web.
We're told businesses have souls, which is surely the most terrifying
news in the world. - Gilles Deleuze
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by NNN0LHI (1468 posts)
Jan-10-02, 09:59 PM (ET)
"A Chronology of Enron Corporation and the White House: AP"
<snip>Oct. 28 - Lay talks by telephone with Treasury Secretary
Paul O'Neill to inform O'Neill of the financial problems facing the
company, according to O'Neill spokeswoman Michele Davis. Davis said
the two also talked on Nov. 8. She said Treasury officials could detect
no ripple effects in financial markets from Enron's troubles and O'Neill
did nothing to help the company.
Oct. 29 - Lay talks by telephone with Evans. A Commerce spokesman says
Lay asked Evans if he could do anything to influence a decision by Moody's
Investors Service to downgrade Enron's credit rating. Evans, after talking
to the general counsel at the Commerce Department, determines it would
not be appropriate to intervene in a decision by a private credit rating
agency, according to Commerce spokesman Jim Dyke.<snip>
...more...
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020110/pl/enron_chronology_3.html
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
Democat (696 posts)
Jan-13-02, 05:43 PM (ET)
"Were Neil and Marvin (Bush's brothers) on the Enron payroll? New
Yorker 1993."
I can't find the original New Yorker article, but there are references
to it all over the web. Roger Clinton is starting to look like a saint
compared to Bush's brothers. Enron denies the Bush Brother's were on the
payroll, but the New Yorker apparently ran an article wondering if they
were.
The following article has been "moved" or deleted off the server (why?),
but it is still in Google's cache. If you want to have copies of a lot
of these articles, you would be wise to save them to your hard drive.
I bet that Bush and company are scrubbing hard right now. Here's the
article:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache
Political Influence Wins Contracts For Gas Company
by Pratap Chatterjee (pchatterjee@igc.apc.org)
WASHINGTON, Jul 18, 1995 (IPS) - Enron, the world's largest natural
gas company, uses powerful connections to bid for contracts that observers
complain are over-priced.
The 10-year-old company which racked up nine billion dollars in sales
last year, shot into the news recently when a state government in India
threatened to cancel a 2.8-billion-dollar deal to build a power plant
near Bombay.
Critics argue that Enron over-charged the Indian government and used
political contacts to clinch the deal. They also say this is nothing
new for the Texas-based company.
(cut)
In India, Enron will charge the state government eight cents a kilowatt
hour -- almost twice the current price paid by consumers. This will
rise to 33 cents by the year 2017.
Critics like Prayas, a non-governmental group based in India, charge
that this works out at a 32 percent rate of return, almost three times
the average rate of return in this country. They also say Enron built
a similar plant in northern England for half the price tag of the Indian
plant.
Enron won a contract to build a 105-megawatt, diesel-fired power plant
in the Philippines that critics said would cost the Filipino National
Power Corporation (NPC) eight cents a kilowatt hour -- 20 percent more
than NPC charged consumers.
The controversy led to resignations in 1993 of all seven members of
the NPC board. Filipino President Fidel Ramos and Delfin Lazaro, the
energy secretary at the time, ordered investigations into the matter.
(cut)
Lay hired as his consultants two of Bush's key cabinet officials:
(James) Baker and secretary of commerce Robert Mosbacher. Thomas Kelly,
the director of operations for the Bush's Joint Chiefs of Staff during
the Gulf war was already working for Lay.
Baker and Kelly accompanied Bush on a private visit to Kuwait in Apr.
1993 after Bush left the White House.
Hersh says in his New Yorker article that Baker along with the former
president's two youngest sons, Neil and Marvin, remained in Kuwait after
Bush left to negotiate on Enron's behalf with the Kuwait ministry
of electricity and water.
Their efforts apparently paid off. Hersh's sources told him that Enron's
Kuwaiti business partners in the bid to re-build Shuaiba had ''obviously
been hand picked'' by the Kuwaiti prime minister.
Enron calls the New Yorker article ''completely incorrect'', but the
company remains vague about what did happen in Kuwait.
''Bush's sons were not working for us and never have. I cannot
comment on whether on not we have a bid in that country,'' Bezalides
told IPS. ''James Baker did have one or two meetings on our behalf in
Kuwait but that was after George Bush left.''
(continued)
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache
GFP Archive
also see...
http://www.j-marshall.com/talk/
- Bush dynasty's (and Enron's) interests in Argentina
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by radfringe (1278 posts)
Jan-11-02, 07:17 AM (ET)
"Unocal, Enron, Halliburton, Afghanistan"
I ran a search on Google.com, using the key words of:
Unocal, Enron, Halliburton, Afghanistan. Below are just a few of the
CONNECTIONS. Article/web page links follow each ¡§section¡¨ I know it¡|s
a lot to deseminate. All I can say is that the Enron collapse is just
the tip of the iceberg, and this all smells worse than a barrel of catfish
decomposing in the hot TEXAS sun.
A. Is Oil Real Target of "War on Terror"?
by Cherryl Aldave
Is the Bush administration really waging "America's new war" because
they want to make the world safe from terror? Or is the "War on Terror"
just the sheeps' clothing of wealth hungry Washington wolves with ties
to the oil industry?
The August 10, 2000 Chicago Tribune reported that Vice President Dick
Cheney "was once CEO of Dallas-based Halliburton Co., the biggest oil-services
company in the world. Because of the instability in the Persian Gulf,
Cheney and his fellow oilmen have zeroed in on the world's other major
source of oil--the Caspian Sea. Its rich oil and gas resources are estimated
at $4 trillion by U.S. News and World Report."
And where is the Caspian Sea region Cheney and the "fellow oilmen"-leaders
of companies such as Enron, Amoco, British Petroleum, Chevron, Exxon,
Mobil and Unocal-are so anxious to exploit? Directly above Afghanistan.
"The good Lord didn't see fit to put oil and gas only where there are
democratically elected regimes friendly to the United States...But,
we go where the business is... " said Cheney in a speech given on June
23, 1988 at the Cato institute, a conservative think tank.
more - http://www.popandpolitics.com/articles_detail.cfm?articleID=1053
*******************************************************************
B. From middle of article: HOW OIL INTERESTS PLAY OUT IN
US BOMBING OF AFGHANISTAN
Project Underground
November 8, 2001
*THE BUSH-CHENEY OILIGARCHY HAS LONG REPRESENTED OIL INTERESTS IN
THE CASPIAN REGION:
"Because of the instability in the Persian Gulf, Cheney and his fellow
oilmen have zeroed in on the world's other major source of oil - the
Caspian Sea. Its rich oil and gas resources are estimated to be worth
US$4 trillion by US News and World Report. The Washington-based American
Petroleum Institute, voice of the major US oil companies, called the
Caspian region, 'the area of greatest resource potential outside of
the Middle East,' according to Marjorie Cohn, a professor at Thomas
Jefferson School of Law in the Chicago Tribune, August 2000.
Six US oil giants -- Unocal, Total, Chevron, Pennzoil, Amoco and Exxon
-- have invested heavily in the massive oilfield potential in Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The region's untapped
oil reserves are estimated to be worth up to $2,000 billion. (9)
The one serious drawback companies have faced is getting the supplies
to the right market, the energy-hungry Asian Pacific economies. Afghanistan
-- the only Central Asian country with very little oil -- is by far
the best route to transport the oil to Asia.
Enron, the biggest contributor to the Bush-Cheney campaign of 2000,
conducted the feasibility study for a US$2.5 billion trans-Caspian gas
pipeline which is being built under a joint venture agreement signed
in February 1999 between Turkmenistan, Bechtel and General Electric
Capital Services.
In 1994, Cheney as CEO of Halliburton, a multi-billion oil and gas services
company, helped to broker a deal between Chevron (now ChevronTexaco)
and
the state of Kazakhstan when he sat on the country's Oil Advisory Board.
(10)
On behalf of oil companies, an array of former cabinet members from
the Bush Sr. administration have been actively involved in negotiations
with Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. They include
former secretary of state James Baker, Brent Scowcroft, former national
security advisor, John Sununu, former chief of staff and Dick Cheney,
former secretary of defense and now Vice President. (11)
more - http://www.peacenowar.net/Nov%208%2001--Oil.htm
*******************************************************************
C Big Money Trail (25,10.)
The good message from the day: George Bush junior announces zuversicht
full, "I do not have Anthrax!". And we thought already... Thus Anthrax
kanns been its, BSE probably not... more.aber we do not become again
serious. Which with us alternative media, which give themselves government
and at all gladly in such a way critically, trust to hardly take up
itself, is the thing with the Marie. On the search for the Big oil and
Big Money Trail land woman with George Bush senior and that are shop
Group again and again .
The latter has the H.C.Price Compagny , specialized in high-quality
pipelines, as project partner which are built at the same time in several
countries. For instance the Trans Alaska pipeline, the Northern Border
pipeline, the Florida gas pipeline, or a project in Iran. Exactly taken
the 1930 created Price Compagny came 1993 into the possession of Dresser
Industries . There we have again a left to Bush , because the grandfather
of the today's president, Prescott Bush , was Managing Director with
Brown Brothers Harriman , the owners of Dresser . 1996 formed Dresser
and the Canadian Shaw Industries the Bredero Shaw group , the world
largest pipeline company.
Dresser became from the Halliburton CO . taken over. Bredero Shaw specialized
in products and services in the energy and resources industry. The company
is to be found also international everywhere in the USA and. Constantly
27 plans on all continents are accomplished. And - vice-president Cheney
was there the Boss, before he changed into the government. It is considered
also as important portion owners of the Enron , which have to do shop
Group with the California energy crisis and with that are to power plant
constructions in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia worked. Enron engaged the former
US minister of foreign affairs James Baker and won the Arab orders owing
to the commitment of the sons of the George Bush senior against lower
German Anbote.
1997 became franc G. Wisner
more - Google
Translate
*******************************************************************
D. Published in June 2000
End of article: Pakistan. The country is highly dependent on oil and
gas, and is a net oil and coal importer. Natural gas accounted for 38%
of Pakistan's energy consumption in 1998, all of which was produced
locally. Pakistan has 21.6 Tcf of proven gas reserves. Its major producing
gas fields are Sui (650 million cubic feet per day, MMcfd ), Adhi and
Kandkhot (120 MMcfd), Mari and Kandanawari. Total production in 1998
was 0.7 Tcf.
According to the oil and gas ministry of the country, Pakistan's natural
gas demand is projected to increase by 50% by 2006. Natural gas will
be the preferred fuel for new power generating capacities. As such,
this will require a big increase in gas production and more interest
in the construction of pipelines to expedite gas importation from neighboring
countries. There are two possible pipeline routes which are being considered.
One is from Qatar's North Dome gas field to the United Arab Emirates
and Oman, via a subsea pipeline from Oman. Pakistan has signed a memorandum
of understanding with the project sponsors in mid-1999. The second pipeline
is from Turkmenistan (from its largest gas field in Dalaurabad) to central
Pakistan via Afghanistan, with an oil pipeline sharing the right of
way through Afghanistan and ending at Karachi. The proposed 800-mile
pipeline is estimated to cost between $2 billion to $2.7 billion, and
would carry up to 700 billion cubic feet of gas. In 1997, an agreement
to build the pipeline was signed with the consortium led by Unocal.
In January 1999, however, Unocal withdrew from the project citing problems
in constructing the pipeline through war-torn Afghanistan. There had
been discussions by the governments of Pakistan and Turkmenistan and
the Afghan authorities despite the withdrawal of Unocal.
more - http://aen.ceerd.net/archive/2000/aen_060a.htm
*******************************************************************
E. Interesting Oil Interests in Afghanistan -
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache
*******************************************************************
F. Making a Killing: War good Business for the Elite
Forget the Mafia. This gang is looting governments and decimating whole
populations. From insider trading to buying up Caspian and Balkan assets
at fire sale prices, the Carlyle Group is set to multiply its sudden
fortune, and its investor list of revolving door ex-officials reads
like a Who's Who of the powers that be in the U.S., World Bank, and
NATO.
Terrorists are retaliating. You will pay the price. You won't hear this
from the major media. What do you expect when the FCC is run by the
son of the Secretary of State?
more - http://globalcircle.net/1gnn1014kg.htm
article has many links.
*******************************************************************
G. Same Old Names, Faces Primed to Make Big Bucks Off Tragedy
President Bush's "crusade" against the Taliban of Afghan istan has more
to do with control of the immense oil and gas resources of the Caspian
Basin than it does with "rooting out terrorism." Once again an American
president from the Bush family is leading Americans down an oil-rich
Middle Eastern warpath against "enemies of freedom and democracy."
Enron, the biggest contributor to the Bush campaign of 2000, conducted
the feasibility study for a $2.5 billion trans-Caspian gas pipeline,
which is being built under a joint venture agreement signed in February
1999 be tween Turkmenistan and two American companies, Bechtel and General
Electric Capital Services.
Enron, a Texas-based gas and energy company, to gether with Amoco, British
Petroleum, Chevron, Exxon, Mobil and Unocal are all engaged in a multi-billion
dollar frenzy to extract the reserves of Azerbaijan, Kazakh stan, and
Turkmenistan, the three newly independent Soviet republics that border
on the Caspian Sea.
Who's Who more - http://globalcircle.net/1gnn1014kg.htm#friends
*******************************************************************
H. Afghanistan and Enron (english)
Afghanistan is a critical region for building natural gas and oil pipelines.
The Caspian Basin has major reserves, but transporting the petroleum
has been problematic for US companies. Installing the Northern Rebels
into power would be more likely to allow western access to thepipeline
route.
Covert Action had an article in the Summer 2000 issue by Karen Talbot,
"Chechyna, More Blood for Oil", which described the US shenanigans
in Central Asia and the Caspian Basin oil & gas fields and pipeline
plans. The current threats of war against that country has its major
roots as OIL, specifically the oil pipeline being considered to get
oil & gas from Turkmenistan, Uzbehkistan, Tajikistan , and the northern
plains of Afghanistan into Karachi, snaking around the Afghani central
highlands.
We have done a few web searches and have found DOE documents and
Oil industry news that indicate that Unocal (just like in Burma) has
been pushing to get the pipeline, with the help of Halliburton. The
DOE documents also mention the big power plants in India owned by Enron
as wanting access to that natural gas.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/afghan.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/casproute.html
http://www.worldpaper.com/2000/june00/vivknand.html
http://www.unocal.com/uclnews/97news/102797a.htm
more - http://www.maltanetworkresources.com
posted at http://democraticunderground.com
(source)
by SoCalDem (4435 posts)
Jan-11-02, 04:53 AM (ET)
"lost SEC investigation papers"..GWB
Extract:"According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission records,
on four separate occasions Gov. George W. Bush disregarded federal statutes
by failing to file insider stock trade reports on a timely basis, back-dating
one trade by some four months.
Moreover, one key trade just a few weeks before Iraq invaded Kuwait -- but reported
some eight months late after the Gulf War was over -- netted Bush close to $1
million in profit as he sold stock in Harken Energy, an oil company doing business
in the Middle East wherein some of his father's largest contributors also maintained
substantial positions.
The SEC under President Bush carried out an incomplete investigation of the
younger Bush's pre-Gulf War trade in 1991 after key presidential advisor George
Jr. claimed that he filed a report, but that the SEC had most likely lost it.
(No one has really asked whether the governor bothered to use registered mail
to verify receipt of the documents.)"
More...
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=16298
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bush,Ridge, Enron 10/97
June 29 --
In October 1997, George W. Bush placed a call to his friend Tom Ridge, the Republican
governor of Pennsylvania, to vouch for the Enron Corporation, the giant Houston
energy and trading company that, at the time, was battling to sell electricity
in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Bush made the call at the request of Kenneth L. Lay, the chairman and chief
executive of Enron. "I called George W. to kind of tell him what was going
on," Mr. Lay said. "And I said that it would be very helpful to Enron,
which is obviously a large company in the state of Texas, if he could just call
the governor and tell him this is a serious company, this is a professional
company, a good company."
After a nasty regulatory fight, Enron cracked into Pennsylvania's market. And
in the ensuing years, the Texas energy company has seen its influence widen
nationally and internationally.
Along the way, Enron and its executives have been Mr. Bush's most generous contributors,
giving more to his various campaigns -- over $550,000 -- than any other source.
The relationship between Mr. Bush and Mr. Lay is close, and old: the two men
got to know each other in the 1980's, when Mr. Lay was a big political supporter
of Governor Bush's father, former President George Bush.
It is the sort of friendship where the governor takes the time to write a joshing
birthday note to Mr. Lay: "One of the sad things about old friends is that
they seem to be getting older -- just like you! 55 years old. Wow! That is really
old." Mr. Bush, 53, listens closely to what Mr. Lay, now 58, and others
at Enron have to say about important policy matters.
As governor, Mr. Bush has been a supporter of the legislative initiatives that
have been most important to Enron, including deregulating electric utilities,
easing the tax burden on capital-intensive companies, and passing laws meant
to curb large jury awards in civil cases. On all of them, Mr. Bush received
advice from top Enron executives, sometimes soliciting it.
(snip)
Governor Bush has even been accused of working on Enron's behalf.
Rodolfo Terragno, a senior Argentine official, has told several publications
that in 1988, he received a call from Mr. Bush asking him to award a pipeline
contract to Enron. Mr. Terragno, who is currently the Argentine cabinet chief,
declined requests for an interview.
But in a statement sent by e-mail, he said he now is not sure if the call came
from Governor Bush or from one of his brothers, Neil Bush. Bush officials say
no one from the family ever lobbied for Enron or spoke to Mr. Terragno about
the project.
More...
http://www.geocities.com/burningbush2000/bestlittle.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRESIDENT George W. Bush says he's had "no contact with Enron officials
in the last six weeks." That's a relief.
It shows he has sense enough to know when a corporation has turned radioactive
and is best approached at the end of a 10-foot pole. Still, this leaves almost
an entire year in which Enron officials waltzed in and out of the White House
enjoying an unusual degree of access.
The Washington Post reports that Vice President Dick Cheney or his aides found
time to meet with Enron officials on six occasions in 2001. -snip-Rep. Henry
Waxman (D-Calif.) can be forgiven his cynicism about these Enron meetings. He
said, "It shows Enron far exceeded the access provided by the White House
to other parties interested in energy policy."
Certainly, it exceeds the access that would be granted to, say, a bunch of high-minded
old ladies in hand-knitted sweaters pleading against a rape of the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge. Anyway, White House officials said the Enron meetings reflected
nothing more sinister than the "open and inclusive" policy of the
vice president's energy task force.
They made it sound like all the meetings had taken place in plain sight on the
White lawn. Anyway, the Enron meetings continued until just days before the
company started to collapse.
Cheney's aides met with executives of Enron's German subsidiary on Aug. 7 and
with Enron officials on Oct. 10. Six days later, Enron's troubles became news,
and the shell of its assets became transparent to the world.
More...
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0110-01.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------
While there is certainly some truth in this story, this is CLASSIC DISINFORMATION!
DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE CNN WOULD START REPORTING THE WHOLE TRUTH?
Why won't these people talk about the REAL REASON O'Neill left the the FBI?
Why won't they talk about the lost briefcase investigation? <snip>
Senior FBI official faces inquiry on lost material Briefcase with classified
information on NY security operations was stolen, recovered
08/19/2001By DAVID JOHNSTON and JAMES RISEN / New York Times News ServiceWASHINGTON
–
The FBI has begun an internal investigation into one of its most senior counterterrorism
officials, who misplaced a briefcase containing highly classified information
last year.
The briefcase contained a number of sensitive documents, including a report
outlining virtually every national security operation in New York, government
officials said. The official, John O'Neill, 49, is the special agent in charge
of national security in the FBI's New York office.
The job is among the most powerful in the FBI, and, although Mr. O'Neill is
not widely known, he has overseen cases such as the terrorist bombing of the
Navy destroyer Cole in Yemen last year and the bombings of American embassies
in Africa in 1998.
The briefcase incident was seen as potentially so serious that the Justice Department
conducted a criminal investigation. The inquiry ended in recent weeks with a
decision by the department's internal-security section not to prosecute, law
enforcement officials said.
The bureau's internal-affairs unit then began its own investigation to determine
whether Mr. O'Neill had violated FBI rules. Jill Stillman, a spokeswoman for
the Justice Department, said department officials would not comment on the matter.
FBI officials in New York and Washington said that Mr. O'Neill also would not
comment.
Mr. O'Neill left his briefcase in a hotel conference room while he attended
a meeting in Tampa, Fla., last summer. The briefcase was stolen, but local authorities
recovered it within hours. Nothing was missing. Officials identified one document
in the briefcase as a draft of what is known in the bureau as the annual field
office report for national security operations in New York.
The closely guarded report contained a description of every counterespionage
and counterterrorism program in New York and detailed the budget and manpower
for each operation. FBI agents are prohibited from removing classified documents
from their offices without authorization. Violations are punishable by censure,
suspension or even dismissal. But the outcome of the internal inquiry is uncertain.
Even if the inquiry finds that Mr. O'Neill violated regulations, he probably
won't be sanctioned. He has been planning to retire.
<more>
http://www.dallasnews.com/national/447954_fbi_19nat.ART.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, September 12, 2001; Page A06
John O'Neill was counterterrorism chief in the FBI's New York field
office before retiring last month and becoming head of security at the
World Trade Center.
He is believed to have died yesterday after going back inside one of the burning
towers to help victims, according to former FBI official Robert Blitzer.O'Neill
spent the last several years heading massive investigations into Saudi extremist
Osama bin Laden, whom U.S. intelligence officials consider the prime suspect
in yesterday's attacks.
O'Neill's 31-year career ended under a cloud. FBI sources confirmed last month
that he was under investigation for leaving a briefcase of classified information
unattended in a Tampa hotel last year. The briefcase was recovered.<snip>
More...
http://www.washingtonpost.com
More...
-
Baxter Medical Examiner - 1/27/2002
http://GlobalFreePress.com/Baxter_Medical_Examiner.shtml
- no stranger to her own scandals!
-
FindLaw Investigations - Enron - 1/27/2002
http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/lit/enron/
- lots of excellent articles and research
- The Enron, Bush, Baker,
Rockefeller connection - 1/26/2002
http://GlobalFreePress.com/bush_baker_enron.shtml
(MORE)
- George W. Bush Gets
Layed - 1/15/2002
http://www.igc.org/trac/issues/politics/featured/2000/bushlayed.html
- Special to CorpWatch
- BUSH ENERGY PLAN -
POLICY OR PAYBACK? - 1/15/2002
http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=80&row=1
- BBC Newsnight
- Will Some Dare Call It Treason? - 1/11/2002
http://www.rense.com/general14/willsomedare.htm
- extensive set of links relating to Enron
- EnronGate Timeline
Here - 1/11/2002
http://www.oliverwillis.com/enrongate/
- extensive set of links relating to Enron
- Threat to Bush in Enron inquiry - 1/10/2002
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,631022,00.html
- Enron executives who dumped stock were
heavy donors to Bush - 1/10/2002
http://www.public-i.org/story_01_010902.htm
- How to create a phony power crisis: The
Bush-Enron connection - 1/10/2002
http://www.citizens-at-large.com/0201/phony_crisis.html
- Was it the result of Over-Confidence or
a Confidence Game? - 1/10/2002
http://www.usnewslink.com/enron.htm
- Enron's Bust: tons of info
- Deputy Attorney General Thompson Had Financial
Ties to Enron - 1/11/2002
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dem-press/message/63
- A Chronology of Enron Corporation and the
White House - 1/11/2002
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020110/pl/enron_chronology_3.html
- Bush Crew and Enron: Conflict Of Interest
and Reality - 1/11/2002
http://www.differentvoices.com/article1037.html
- James A. Baker III
- King & Spalding's work for Enron
- 1/11/2002
http://www.kslaw.com/practice_areas/prac_energy_matters.asp
- Bids on offshore oil and gas - 1/11/2002
http://houston.bcentral.com/houston/stories/2001/12/03/newscolumn1.html
- ENRON - UNOCAL CONNECTION - 1/11/2002
http://www.prnewswire.com/
- This is a list of Bush's people's relationships
with Enron... - 1/2/2002
http://www.j-marshall.com/talk/
- about halfway down the page
- Mr. & Mrs. ENRON
Among Top Donors To Stop Florida Recount... - 1/15/2002
http://www.opensecrets.org
- Don't Cry for Bush, Argentina... - 1/15/2002
http://www.j-marshall.com/talk/
- Bush dynasty's (and Enron's) interests there
- Bush appointed Harvey Pitt as head of the SEC for a reason...
- 12/14/2001
http://www.thenewrepublic.com/121701/chait121701.html
- Enron Insider Trading Stats - 12/11/2001
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/insider/trans.asp?All=True&Symbol=US:ENE
- ENRON Execs Got $55 Million Just Before Bankruptcy
http://www.forbes.com/2001/12/05/1205enron.html
- FACTBOX- Companies' ENRON exposure estimated at $6.1 Billion
http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2001/12/06/rtr446029.html
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