posted on February 2, 2002 11:49:22 PM new
WASHINGTON -- President Bush today defended his refusal to turn over to Congress information about contacts between Enron and the administration's energy task force, saying the request was "an encroachment on the executive branch's ability to conduct business."
"We're not going to let the ability for us to discuss matters between ourselves to become eroded,"
Good one, George.
David M. Walker, who as comptroller general of the United States heads the accounting office, said in an interview after the president's remarks, "Once the administration decided to create this task force and put the vice president in charge, we believe that changed the matter to clearly give the Congress and the G.A.O. right of access." Mr. Walker added, "If all you have to do is create a task force, put the vice president in charge, detail people from different agencies paid by taxpayers, outreach to whomever you want and then you can circumvent Congressional oversight, that's a loophole big enough to drive a truck through."
Mr. Bush took strong exception to the characterization by some Democratic lawmakers that the proposals recommended by the energy task force in May reflected a "wish list" for Enron."There are some on Capitol Hill who want to politicize this issue," he added. "This is not a political issue.It's a business issue. It's a business issue that this nation must deal with. And, you know, Enron had made contributions to a lot of people around Washington, D.C. And if they came to this administration looking for help, they didn't find any."
But......George......The former head of Enron, Kenneth Lay, gave the White House a list of his personal recommendations for key federal energy posts and two of the people on his list were appointed, it emerged yesterday, providing the strongest evidence so far of the political influence wielded by President Bush's biggest financial backer.
The revelation is likely to increase pressure on the Bush administration to open the books on its contacts with Mr Lay and his associates. The Enron scandal is now threatening to reach to the heart of the White House.
Mr Lay put forward his list of suggested members of the federal energy regulatory commission last spring. Two of the people he suggested, Pat Wood, a Texas Republican who now chairs the commission, and Nora Brownell, were appointed by the president.
Mr Lay himself disclosed details of the list in an interview recorded last May but only broadcast yesterday. "I brought a list, we certainly presented a list," Mr Lay told the PBS channel. "As I recall, I signed a letter which, in fact, had some recommendations as to people we thought would be good commissioners."
The White House is attempting to swiftly distance itself from the claim, which ties the administration more closely with the former Enron chief.
posted on February 3, 2002 10:39:24 AM new
Also, as predicted, the GOP and congressional officeholders are laying low to see where the chips fall. No one in Bush's party is daring to stand up to defend the administration. As Bush begins to fall, taking Dick Cheney with him, the Republican Party will do what they do best, and that's toss the "guilty parties" to the wolves and let the media tear them apart. Once again, voters on all sides will be witness to exactly how the Republican's stance of "every man and woman for himself or herself" comes into play when one of them is in danger. And after the Bush administration and the Parade of Felons has marched past, the Republicans will find some way to PARDON Bush and Co. and then exonerate them, and finally, have them enshrined in later decades as "The Best President America Ever Had ... If Only We Could Have His Like Again. >>SIGH!<< ... THOSE were the days!"
You heard it here first.
Borillar
"Friends don't let friends vote republican"
