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Enron lies Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAK4NFIJXC.htmlhttp://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAK4NFIJXC.html
Leaders of Enron Inquiry Challenge CEO's Testimony,
Perjury Possibility Raised
By Marc Gorden and the Associated Press
Published Feb 10, 2002
WASHINGTON (AP) - Leaders of Congress'
investigations of the Enron collapse said flatly Sunday
they didn't believe the sworn testimony of former
Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling, and one
suggested he could face formal accusations of perjury.
They challenged Skilling's words as they prepared to
hear from ex-Enron chairman Kenneth Lay, scheduled
to testify Tuesday. Two committees snubbed by Lay a
week ago have issued subpoenas compelling him to
come.
"We will be respectful but tough," in questioning Lay,
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of a Senate
Commerce panel on consumer affairs, told CNN. But
while Lay must show up, he could still invoke his right
not incriminate himself, and refuse to answer questions.
After an intense week of hearings, lawmakers say they
have strong evidence of illegal activity surrounding the
failure of the energy-trading company, which slid into
the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history on Dec. 2.
A House investigative panel heard hours of conflicting
testimony Thursday from Skilling, who was chief
executive officer of Houston-based Enron, and other
top company officials. Skilling said he knew few details
of the complex web of partnerships that brought down
Enron, and he insisted he was never warned of
problems with the arrangements.
Rep. Jim Greenwood, R-Pa., chairman of the House
Energy and Commerce subcommittee, and Rep. Billy
Tauzin, R-La., who heads the full committee, told CBS
"Face the Nation" that they didn't believe Skilling.
"He was totally incredible," said Tauzin. "This is the guy
who was in charge of the corporation. ... I'm afraid he
may have put himself in some legal jeopardy as a
result."
Asked whether Skilling could face a perjury indictment
by federal prosecutors, Tauzin replied, "That could
happen. I mean you can't come to Congress ... take
that oath as he did in front of Jim Greenwood, and then
not tell the truth."
Tauzin said: "He could have some real problems."
Skilling's attorney, Bruce Hiler, said later he was
"shocked at the unsupported charges being leveled at
our client."
Even Skilling's mother questioned what he had said.
"When you are the CEO and you are on the board of
directors, you are supposed to know what's going on
with the rest of the company," Betty Skilling told
Newsweek magazine.
"You can't get off the hook with me there," she said.
"He's going to have to beat this the best way he can."
Tauzin and Greenwood cited instances in which
Skilling said he couldn't recall details of key
conversations that subordinates testified they had with
him concerning Enron's finances. In one, Enron's new
president and chief operating officer, Jeffrey
McMahon, said he was transferred out of his job as
treasurer shortly after he complained to Skilling about
the partnerships in a 30-minute meeting in March
2000.
Hiler, in a statement, disputed Tauzin's assertions that
Skilling's administrative assistant had provided
information that undermined his version of events.
Hiler did not address, however, the statements by
other Enron employees that conflicted with Skilling's
testimony.
Some Democrats highlighted the political dimensions of
the Enron collapse. Lawmakers of both parties said
they hoped the debacle would give a boost to
legislation before the House this week designed to curb
money's influence on federal elections.
"Ken Lay is the poster child for cash-and-carry
government," Senate Commerce Committee Chairman
Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., said on CBS' "Face the
Nation."
He cited Enron's ties with several Bush administration
officials and its heavy donations to Bush's presidential
campaigns as well as those of numerous senators and
House members from both parties.
"Almost everybody got money from them," Sen.
Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who also is leading an
investigation, told Fox News.
As the Justice Department and the Securities and
Exchange Commission investigate Enron and its
longtime auditor, the Arthur Andersen accounting firm,
politicians in both parties have scrambled to return
campaign contributions connected to Enron and its
executives.
"People at the top of this corporation got very, very
rich and people at the bottom lost their life savings,"
Dorgan said.
He also challenged Skilling's credibility, saying "I don't
think he was telling the truth when he appeared."
AP-ES-02-10-02 1826EST
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