> >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!
> >
into this:
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!
<--->
Feel free to use it.
// mark