|
Gonzales firm supported enron { February 15 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/02/15/BU132842.DTLhttp://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/02/15/BU132842.DTL
Spotlight on Enron's law firm
- David Lazarus
Friday, February 15, 2002
Alberto Gonzales enjoys a reputation for covering George W. Bush's back.
In 1996, for example, Gonzales, as Bush's general counsel, managed to get the then-Texas governor excused from jury duty, thus saving Bush from having to disclose a 1976 arrest for drunk driving.
Bush rewarded Gonzales' loyalty by subsequently appointing him Texas' secretary of state and then to a seat on the Texas Supreme Court. And today, Gonzales is still watching Bush's flank as White House counsel.
But before Gonzales became a permanent fixture of Team W, he was a partner at the powerful Houston law firm Vinson & Elkins, and that's something congressional investigators are apparently taking a closer look at.
Sources tell me that investigators are following up on tips that Vinson & Elkins may have briefed former partners in advance on the findings of a top- secret probe into Enron's shady business dealings.
Enron had quietly asked Vinson & Elkins to conduct the probe in mid-August after a company official, Sherron Watkins, warned former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay that the deals could constitute fraudulent behavior.
Watkins reiterated to Congress yesterday that she was "highly alarmed" by what she'd learned. She said Lay had promised to look into the matter.
An oral report on Vinson & Elkins' findings was made to Lay on Sept. 21, and a written report was submitted to Enron on Oct. 15. It concluded that while Enron's activities did not warrant further investigation, "there is a serious risk of adverse publicity and litigation."
Enron is Vinson & Elkins' biggest client. Joseph Dilg, Vinson & Elkins' managing partner, rose through the ranks specializing in work for the energy trader. Enron's own general counsel, James Derrick, is a former Vinson & Elkins partner.
Not surprisingly, many Vinson & Elkins partners, as well as those who have departed the firm, are Enron shareholders. For congressional investigators now poring over Enron's affairs, the tight relationship between the company and its lawyers is a source of concern.
The question they're asking is whether Vinson & Elkins tried to look after its own by passing word to former partners -- especially those in high places - - about potential trouble brewing at Enron's headquarters.
If so, was Gonzales among them? And if that was the case, did the White House have direct knowledge of Enron's financial difficulties weeks before the news wiped out billions of dollars in shareholder value?
If nothing else, the White House could have asked federal energy regulators to explore Enron's financial well-being well before the company was on its last legs.
White House spokeswoman Anne Womack said that "to the best of his recollection," Gonzales "can't recall having had any conversations with anyone at Vinson & Elkins about Enron since last summer."
Joe Householder, a spokesman for Vinson & Elkins, also said the firm has had no contact with Gonzales about Enron.
But Craig McDonald isn't so sure. The director of Texans for Public Justice,
a watchdog group that's tracked Gonzales' career for years, said he wouldn't be at all surprised if Vinson & Elkins had shared its findings with the White House counsel.
"It's definitely plausible," McDonald said. "Gonzales is part of the V&E network. These guys protect each other."
Gonzales, 46, worked for Vinson & Elkins from 1982 through 1992, when he was tapped by Bush to become the then-governor's general counsel.
The law firm and Enron were Gonzales' main financial backers when he ran in 2000 to hold his seat on the supreme court. Vinson & Elkins contributed $29, 450 and Enron ponied up another $6,500.
The White House's Womack said there was no significance to this generosity. "It says that Enron and Vinson & Elkins took an interest in supporting Judge Gonzales," she said. "It's not unusual for a law firm to support someone who used to work there."
But McDonald at Texans for Public Justice said Vinson & Elkins' interest may have gone beyond mere boosterism. "They give more political money than anyone else, and this helps them with access to government officials," he said.
"That's what they're all about."
In an interview last year with Hispanic magazine, Gonzales said he never really embraced Republican ideology until joining Vinson & Elkins.
He also said he was personally assured by Bush before becoming White House counsel that "we're going to have a clean administration."
Gonzales is now the point man in the administration's effort to keep hidden Vice President Dick Cheney's notes regarding moves by Enron's Lay and others to shape national energy policy.
Congress' General Accounting Office is suing for access to the potentially sensational documents.
Gonzales also helped draft Bush's plan for secret military tribunals to try foreigners suspected of terrorism -- an idea that ran into a firestorm of criticism from civil libertarians.
Meanwhile, Bush, who prizes loyalty above all other things, may have even more plans for his favorite attorney. The buzz in Washington is that Gonzales is the president's top choice should a vacancy open on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Something tells me that this wouldn't be an unwelcome development in the boardroom of a certain Houston law firm.
Page B - 1
|
|
