What was I just saying! American Patriots Friends Network evolved
out of a pre OKB militia/patriot fax distribution list. Michael
Pugliese--- Original Message ---
>From: American Patriot Friends Network <APFN at apfn.org>
>To: APFN SMARTGROUP <APFN at smartgroups.com>, APFN Yahoogroups
<apfn at yahoogroups.com>
>Date: 1/11/02 12:52:10 PM
>
>From: Mike Ruppert - mruppert at copvcia.com
>To: From The Wilderness
>Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 1:20 PM
>Subject: ENRON CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN SEC AND GAO
> THREATEN CREDIBILITY OF INVESTIGATIONS
>
>Enron Exploding May Connect to Money Laundering
>
>BIGGER BUSH ADMINISTRATION CONFLICTS OF INTEREST LOOM AFTER
ASHCROFT
>RECUSES FROM ENRON INVESTIGATION
>
>by Michael C. Ruppert
>
>FTW January 11, 2002 Even as Attorney General John Ashcroft
today recused
>himself from involvement in any Justice Department investigation
into the
>mushrooming Enron scandal, larger conflicts of interest potentially
more
>damaging to the Bush Administration -- are becoming increasingly
apparent.
>The conflicts involve the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange
Commission
>(SEC), Harvey Pitt and the head of Congress investigative arm,
the General
>Accounting Office (GAO), David Walker. Both agencies are charged
with
>investigating allegedly criminal behavior by the energy trading
firm,
>once the seventh largest company in America, which has now become
the
>single largest bankruptcy in world history and may soon become
the
>largest financial and political scandal in American history.
>
>As new revelations of Enrons unethical and insider-based improprieties,
>apparently facilitated by more than $2 million in Bush campaign
donations,
>continue to flash across TV screens on a daily, sometimes hourly,
basis --
>more serious allegations of criminal money-laundering activities
by a
>respected financial expert suggest that what is already known
about Enrons
>behavior is but the barest tip of a razor sharp iceberg that
could sink the
>Bush presidency.
>
>Spokespersons for Pitt and Walker both denied to FTW in interviews
on January
>10 that there is any reason for the heads of these two agencies,
long regarded
>as the last and best protections against unchecked government
corruption, to
>recuse themselves from Enron investigations even though their
respective
>agencies have key statutory obligations to investigate the growing
scandal.
>
>SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt, who took office in August of this
year, after most
>of the acts leading to the Enron collapse had been committed,
was, according
>to a Jan. 9, 2001 report by the Center for Public Integrity,
a partner in
>the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson.
In that capacity
>he represented accounting firm Arthur Andersen, Enrons auditor,
which
>disclosed in a press release dated yesterday, that in recent
months
>individuals in the firm involved with the Enron engagement disposed
of
>a significant but undetermined number of electronic and paper
documents
>and correspondence related to the Enron engagement.
>
>This is significant because Andersen, one of the big five accounting
firms,
>had routinely signed off on falsified financial statements concealing
almost
>$20 billion in off-balance-sheet debt from stock and bond holders,
>regulatory agencies and Enron employees. Many of Enrons pre-bankruptcy
>20,000 employees were barred by the company from cashing in
their 401(k)
>retirement plans, primarily consisting of Enron stock, while
key
>executives including Chairman Kenneth Lay, former President
and CEO
>Jeff Skilling, and CFO Andrew Fastow reportedly personally made
more
>than $1 billion selling Enron shares before the collapse.
>
>SEC spokeswoman Christi Harlan told FTW, The Chairman filed
an agreement
>that he would recuse himself from votes in any matters where
he had a
>conflict of interest. The investigation is being run by the
enforcement
>division and they keep him [Pitt] advised.
>
>Once the Commission launches an investigation to go forward
they just do
>their thing. Theres no requirement for a vote until an action
is
>recommended.
>
>Harlan stated that the enforcement division acts autonomously
from any input
>from the Chairmans office and that the head of the division
has management
>oversight for any investigations. This appears to be a different
SEC practice
>from the long-respected partnership of SEC chairman Arthur Levitt
and
>enforcement director Richard Walker who were known as a team
for their
>single-minded and thorough non-partisan investigation of securities
>violations in the 1980s and 90s. Walker was recruited by Deutschebank
>shortly after the attacks of
>September 11th, 2001.
>
>When asked if, in spite of his past representation of Andersen,
Pitt was
>confident that there would be no conflict of interest or any
resultant
>influence on the Enron probe, Harlan said, Absolutely!
>
>Comptroller General of the United States David M. Walker, who
heads the GAO,
>has an even more obvious dilemma. Until November 9, 1998 he
was a partner,
>board member and global managing director at Andersen. As persistent
>questions bubble about Andersens possible complicity in Enrons
criminal
>falsification of
>financial statements Walkers past relationship with Andersen
management
>raises a question about his own ability to investigate in an
unbiased
>fashion.
>
>GAO spokesman Jeff Nelligan told FTW, There is no link, no reason
to recuse
>at all. When Mr. Walker was at Arthur Andersen he had nothing
to do with
>Enron and he left well before all of this took place. Hes been
gone for
>three plus years now.
>
>The possibility that Walker had no knowledge of Enron activities
(Enron was
>Arthur Andersens second largest account paying Andersen some
$52 million
>last year) is questionable given his position as a director
and board member.
>And the statement that he was not at Andersen when Enrons financial
>statements were being falsified is flatly contradicted by a
2001 Enron
>corporate filing with the SEC (form 8-K) which states that Enron
will
>restate its financial statements from 1997 to 2000 and the first
and second
>quarters of 2001 to account for the fraudulent or grossly negligent
>financial statements given to the SEC by Enron executives and
certified by
>Andersen.
>
>Walker was on the board of Andersen for almost two years while
Enron was
>cooking the books and Andersen was signing off on it.
>
>Many of the Andersen connections and possible improprieties
have been noted
>by Rep John Dingell (D), MI the ranking member of the House
Energy and
>Commerce Committee. On December 5, 2001 Dingell wrote to Pitt
with a series
>of detailed accounting questions that, when addressed in any
one of eight
>announced Enron investigations, cannot help but draw Andersen
deeper into
>the controversy.
>
>THE ENRON ADMINISTRATION
>
>A January 3 letter from Vice President Dick Cheney (former CEO
of oil
>construction giant Halliburton) to California Congressman Henry
Waxman
>disclosed that between January and September of 2001 Enron executives,
>including Lay, had met on six occasion with Cheneys National
Energy Policy
>Development Group. The letter did not disclose details of the
meetings but
>did reveal that the last such meeting occurred on October 10th
just six
>days before Enron publicly announced the hidden debt, triggering
the
>collapse of its share price.
>
>The October 10th meeting was approximately two weeks before
Enrons Chair,
>Ken Lay made calls, as reported by the Associated Press on January
10, to
>Treasury Secretary Paul ONeil and Commerce Secretary Don Evans
to discuss
>the fallout from Enrons pending collapse. Lay is a long-time
personal
>friend of George Herbert Walker Bush and has headed the company
which has
>given over $2 million in hard and soft campaign donations to
George W. Bush
>and the Republican Party since 1999.
>
>A pending constitutional crisis loomed this summer as the GAO
and Waxman moved
>closer to suing the Vice President for refusing to let Congress
know what his
>energy task force was debating behind the same closed doors
that proved to be
>no barrier for Enron. Waxmans letters, frequently copied to
Dingell and
>Walker, established a robust paper trail closing off avenues
of escape for
>the Administration in its repeated refusals to cooperate.
>
>A January 10th letter from Waxman to Attorney General John Ashcroft
inquiring
>about his acceptance or more than $75,000 in campaign contributions
from Enron
>during his 2000 Senate campaign from Missouri was followed,
within hours, by
>Ashcrofts announcement that he would have nothing to do with
the Justice
>Departments investigation of Enron. However, Ashcroft has chosen
the less
>aggressive investigatory tactic of creating an in-house task
force to
>investigate Enron, rather than empanelling a grand jury capable
of bringing
>criminal charges.
>
>As of press time the Department of Justice has not returned
a call from FTW
>asking why the less aggressive approach was chosen.
>
>Other Bush figures connected to or having a financial stake
in Enron include
>Presidential advisor Karl Rove, U.S. Trade Representative Robert
Zoellick
>(formerly on Enrons advisory council) and multi-millionaire
Secretary of
>the Army Thomas White who is a former Enron executive. Lawrence
Lindsay,
>the Presidents economic advisor, formerly served on an Enron
advisory board.
>The newly elected Chairman of the Republican Party (RNC), former
Montana
>Governor Marc Racicot, is Enrons former chief lobbyist with
the firm of
>Bracewell and Patterson. Racicot has indicated that he will
not sever his
>relationships with the firm and may continue to lobby as he
leads the
>Republican Party. As RNC he has unobstructed access to all key
decisions
>and votes made by Republican members of Congress.
>
>Racicot is not subject to any governmental regulation or oversight
because he
>is not a federal employee.
>
>Enron influence throughout the Bush Administration is nearly
ubiquitous.
>Several news stories have reported that CEO Lay, who had supported
Bush
>since his first run for Texas Governor has actually cast an
imperial
>thumbs up or thumbs down on cabinet-level appointees and key
regulatory
>officials including the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
>which controls electrical rates for providers and oil, gas and
electricity
>movements throughout U.S. markets.
>
>CUTTING TO THE CHASE AND CLUES OF GREATER CRIMES
>
>When asked about Justices decision to create a task force instead
of
>convening a grand jury, a former federal prosecutor with experience
in
>government corruption and energy matters told FTW, on condition
of anonymity,
>Im a little relieved by Ashcrofts recusal but a task force is
not a
>grand jury and cannot charge criminal offenses. There is still
one or more
>steps removed from actual criminal charges. Given the evidence
of criminal
>behavior a task force, then, is less than a perfect solution.
Its not
>really any solution.
>
>The former prosecutor added that Andersens destruction of records,
is
>extraordinary. Andersen has known for many months that documents
in their
>possession might very well become the subject of civil and criminal
>discovery. It was incumbent upon Andersen, at the moment that
it knew that
>these documents might become a part of litigation, to suspend
their records
>retention schedules. It was Andersens lawyers duty to advise
Andersen to
>err on the side of retention. That is considered best practices
for
>record retention in virtually every major company. The decision
makers who
>failed to flag the documents at the proper time critically ill
served the
>partnership.
>
>Catherine Austin Fitts, a former Assistant Secretary of Housing
and Urban
>Development (HUD) and a past Managing Director of the Wall Street
investment
>bank Dillon Read noted that Enrons trading patterns, internet
money movements
>and [other activities] were consistent with a large-scale money
laundering
>operation.
>
>She told FTW, The fact that subpoenas were not issued months
ago to obtain
>all Enron Online off shore and onshore digital and paper trading
records and
>corresponding bank records defies logic, unless one presumes
that Enron's
>generous donations have bought them time for a shredding party
that
>protects all the beneficiaries of the real dollars that flowed
through the
>Enron money pipeline. If my years working on the clean up of
BCCI and the
>S&L crisis taught me one thing that I would communicate today
to the
>shareholders, retirees and employees who have been harmed, it
is this:
>People like the people on the board of Enron absolutely make
money on
>insider trading, bid rigging and fraud, and they do so with
help from
>the highest levels. They are superb at financial fraud because
they are
>superb at persuading people that they are respectable and legitimate.
>The money they steal buys a lot of respectability.
>
>Presume the worst form of fraud and criminal enterprise is plausible.
If
>not, then we are looking at gross negligence that, according
to traditional
>standards of fiduciary responsibility, in fact constitutes criminality
and
>fraud. Either way the specifics come out -- intentional fraud
or gross
>negligence -- the Enron board and management are criminals.
That is a fact.
>The rule of law says that they should be held to the same standards
of
>accountability as the millions of people they and their institutions
have
>evicted from their homes, thrown into jail, denied health care
and jobs or
>had burnt at the proverbial stake. The rule of decency says
that any
>American who will continue to do business or associate with
these
>individuals is part of the culture of corruption that has neatly
>disconnected action from accountability.
>
>I will bet every last dollar I have that Enron was the largest
laundromat of
>stolen and tax evading dollars in American history and that
the Department of
>Justice's primary goal is cover-up --- to make sure that the
money trail
>disappears forever.
>
>Fitts is also well qualified to speak on issues of government
impropriety.
>She has recently successfully beaten a five-year Department
of Justice attempt
>to destroy her reputation after she had discovered mismanagement
of government
>funds and other improprieties at HUD in the mid 1990s. Her ordeal
has recently
>resulted in statements completely exonerating her and revealing
that there
>was no legal basis for the government to have begun the investigations
of her
>company, Hamilton Securities, in the first place. Emerging from
the ordeal as a
>recognized innovative thinker on economics, Fitts routinely
consults with
>major economic-financial research groups in the U.S. and Europe
and has just
>participated in the New York Times drug policy forum with Nobel
Laureate,
>economist Milton Friedman.
>
>Michael Ruppert is the Publisher/Editor of From The Wilderness,
a monthly
>newsletter read in 27 countries and by two committees and 20
members of the
>U.S. Congress. He may be reached at mruppert at copvcia.com.
>
>The FTW web site is located at www.copvcia.com.
>======================================================================
>
>Enron as "Bushs Whitewater"; And "Worse"
>http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=15961
>
>ASHCROFT WITHDRAWS AS ENRON AFFAIR EXPLODES...
>CALLS FOR WORLD'S LEADERS TO CLOSE GLOBAL EQUALITY GAP...
>http://commondreams.org/
>
>Crashing the Party - Ralph Nader
>http://www.crashingtheparty.org/
>
>Access the JWT Specialized Communications Layoff Updates
>http://www.hrlive.com/
>
>Dedication: I was born an American. I live as an American; I
shall die an
>American; and I intend to perform the duties incumbent upon
me in that
>character to the end of my career. I mean to do this with absolute
disregard
>to personal consequences. What are the personal consequences?
What is the
>individual man with all the good or evil that may betide him,
in comparison
>with the good and evil which may befall a great country, and
in the midst
>of great transactions which concern that country's fate?
>Let the consequences be what they will, I am careless, No man
can suffer
>too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer or if he
fall, in the
>defense of the liberties and Constitution of his country.
>http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html
>