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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/09/opinion/09HOLL.html
>From the New York Times
February 9, 2002
Time for a Special Counsel
By ERNEST F. HOLLINGS
ASHINGTON -- This week, when Kenneth Lay, former Enron chairman and George W. Bush's
largest campaign contributor, failed to show up to testify before Congress, I became
convinced that it is time to appoint a special counsel to investigate Enron. We need
to name a special counsel, rather than relying on the Justice Department, because
conflicts of interest abound in this case, particularly at the Justice Department.
Federal law allows the attorney general to appoint such a counsel when the Justice
Department's involvement would present a conflict of interest.
Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself from the Enron case because he had
taken $57,000 from Enron in his failed bid for the Senate in 2000. His chief of staff
also recused himself, since he was Mr. Ashcroft's 2000 campaign manager. That leaves
Larry Thompson, deputy attorney general, to oversee the case � or to appoint a special
counsel.
While Mr. Thompson is a capable attorney, his former law firm has represented both
Enron and Arthur Andersen, giving a taint of a conflict of interest. Moreover, Mr.
Thompson may already be the busiest man in Washington because he is overseeing the
Justice Department's counterterrorism activities.
A special counsel can also be appointed if there are "extraordinary circumstances"
that would cause the appointment to be in the public's interest. What could be more
extraordinary than the largest bankruptcy in American history? When was the last time
a corporate collapse had Wall Street so jittery, with investors questioning the
accounting practices of every company and so many ripples spreading out through the
economy?
I also find it to be "extraordinary circumstances" when a top executive commits
suicide, voluminous documents are shredded and witness after witness takes the Fifth
Amendment. And in my 35 years in the Senate, I have never witnessed a corporation so
extraordinarily committed to buying government. In the last decade, Enron gave
campaign contributions to 186 House members and 71 senators, including $3,500 to me.
In the 2000 election, Mr. Lay and his employees, as well as Enron and its political
action committee, contributed some $700,000 to Mr. Bush and the Republican party.
There was money for the party convention, the recount of votes in Florida, the Bush
inaugural. And Enron airplanes for the campaign.
The Bush administration says it did nothing for Mr. Lay this fall when he sought its
help. I believe this. But what about help given before? The administration has
provided jobs for a stable of Enron alumni and friends. Thomas White, a former vice
chairman of an Enron subsidiary, became the secretary of the Army and quickly moved to
turn the military's energy needs over to private hands, like those of his former
employer.
Patrick Wood III abruptly replaced Curtis Hebert as head of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission; Mr. Hebert hadn't agreed with Mr. Lay on electricity
deregulation. The trade representative, Robert Zoellick, had served on an Enron
advisory board. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham took $13,500 from Enron as a senator.
I could recite many more connections.
Mr. Thompson, who is now in charge, ought to pick someone with the credibility of an
Archibald Cox, who developed a sterling reputation with the public for his objectivity
during the Watergate investigation. If someone of this ilk finds no wrongdoing, people
would have confidence that the investigation was done right.
In addition, the Senate should have one committee investigating Enron, not six.
Senator Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska, and I have asked the Senate leadership
to establish a bipartisan select committee to address the policy implications of
Enron's collapse. The policy concerns are vast: consumer fraud, electricity
deregulation, employee pension funds, Securities and Exchange Commission regulations,
auditing and accounting standards, tax compliance and shareholder rights.
Through a special counsel and a select committee, the government will ensure a
thorough investigation without a taint of conflict. Only then will the American public
know the Enron problem and its associated consequences are not swept under the rug.
Ernest F. Hollings, a senator from South Carolina, is chairman of the Commerce,
Science and Transportation Committee.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/09/opinion/09HOLL.html
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