Word: enronizing
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...White House last week junior aides were asking Washington veterans whether they will have to hire lawyers because they attended meetings in which Enron issues were discussed. Answer: probably not-but the question shows the level of concern. Though there has been no evidence of anything illegal, Enron enjoyed considerable influence from the start of the Bush Administration. Curtis Hebert Jr., the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, told the New York Times that Lay offered to support Hebert's continuing in that role if Hebert would take a friendlier view toward energy deregulation. Hebert declined...
...Houston, at an event hosted by Bush's mother. O'Neill was present at the Thursday discussion and said, "Oh, by the way, you need to know that I had a conversation with Ken Lay. He called me." O'Neill described the call as a "heads up" about Enron's financial woes and the potential effects they might have on the larger economy. Bush nodded. Then Evans, also present, chimed in. "I got a call from Ken too," said the Commerce Secretary, who is Bush's closest friend. "He was asking me to help, but I didn...
...While Bush and the Republicans have gained the lion's share of attention from Enron and Lay, they get at least a little cover from the company's campaign contributions to prominent Democrats, such as Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman and Louisiana Senator John Breaux. Enron and its top officials have hired the well-known Democratic lawyers Robert Bennett and David Boies. And Bob Rubin, the Democrats' high priest of economics and finance, was caught fishing-albeit tentatively by all accounts-for Treasury intervention on Enron's behalf...
...Mark Cheffers, CEO of accounting Malpractice.com, says of Arthur Andersen: "Even if they're innocent, it looks like a massive cover-up." Andersen reported its destruction of Enron documents to the SEC and Justice Department early last week-just before four congressional investigators arrived at the company's Houston office on Wednesday. Committee officials immediately demanded the personal records of the partner and five top executives working on the Enron account...
...With the SEC, the Justice Department and various congressional committees now scrutinizing Andersen's audit work on Enron, there is little doubt efforts will be made to rein in the industry. "The profession has always done just enough to get out of a hole," says industry analyst Arthur Bowman. The SEC and Congress are looking into Andersen's interpretation of accounting rules that allowed Enron to exclude losses at several partnerships from its balance sheets. But the larger issue will be the objectivity of the entire industry. Enron paid Andersen $25 million for its audit last year and $27 million...