Do you remember how much taxpayer's money, newspaper
ink, broadcast time and political capital was expended
over Whitewater? Contrast Whitewater to Enron...Even
the baseless, thoroughly refuted accusations involved
in Whitewater did not rise to the level of the
periphery of Enron-related filth seeping from the Bush
abomination, and its running dogs, including both
Conan the Deceiver and Tom DeLay...Do you remember
what the apologists for the "US mainstream news media"
said after the Impeachment debacle, "Oh, well, the
press will go after anyone, it's dirt that they want,
it's scandal they are after, they don't care which
side of the aisle its own." Really...The NYTwits ran
this AP story in their "Business" section, if it had
been about a Democratic leader, it would have been on
the front page...Of course, in the time before the
NYTwits succumbed to whatever they succumbed to, they
would have put their best investigative reporters on
Enron and the Bush cabal and would have broken the
complex of scandals that they are now struggling to
avoid covering...Did you know that the increasingly
unhinged and incredibly shrinking _resident stalked
out of a press briefing the day after his friend and
benefactor Kenny Boy was indicted -- because all the
questions (for a change) were about Enron and Kenny
Boy? No? Well, that's probably because only Agence
France Press reported it. Did you know Jim Sharp is
workng for both Kenny Boy on his criminal case and for
the increasingly unhinged and incredibly shrinking
_resident, as his personal lawyer in the Plame
investigation? No? Gee, hard to imagine that the
"rapid press corp" didn't pick up on that disturbing
coincidence. Yes, indeed, it's the Media, Stupid...
Suzanne Gamboa, Associated Press: In only a few
e-mails, Enron employees laid bare the reality of
politics: the money trail from companies seeking
favors from lawmakers with the power to grant them.
The e-mails circulated among Enron officials in 2000 and 2001, before the collapse of the Houston energy company, are under review by the House ethics
committee, which is considering whether to investigate the fund-raising activities of the No. 2 leader in the House, Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
Enron officials map out in the e-mail how to get
the most for their financial contributions, while
politicians compete for credit in securing large
campaign donations from the company.
Free Martha Stewart, Investigate the Bush-Cheney Enron
Connection, Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush
(again!)
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/071904Y.shtml
Enron E-Mail a Window on Political Money
By Suzanne Gamboa
The Associated Press
Sunday 18 July 2004
Washington - In only a few e-mails, Enron
employees laid bare the reality of politics: the money
trail from companies seeking favors from lawmakers
with the power to grant them.
The e-mails circulated among Enron officials in
2000 and 2001, before the collapse of the Houston
energy company, are under review by the House ethics
committee, which is considering whether to investigate
the fund-raising activities of the No. 2 leader in the
House, Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas.
Enron officials map out in the e-mail how to get
the most for their financial contributions, while
politicians compete for credit in securing large
campaign donations from the company.
The e-mails "really do pull the curtain back and
give you a view of how it's done," said Larry Noble,
executive director of the Center for Responsive
Politics, which tracks political contributions and
spending.
Attention has refocused on the e-mails since a
Texas Democrat filed an ethics complaint last month
against DeLay. Rep. Chris Bell accused the majority
leader of soliciting and accepting political
contributions from a Kansas energy company, Westar
Energy Inc., in return for legislative favors.
DeLay's office denies there was any quid pro quo.
DeLay contends Bell filed the complaint because Bell
is bitter over losing his primary race in March.
What DeLay and other politicians cannot deny is
that the Enron e-mails illustrate the nature of
political fund raising.
"The e-mails are an indication of what goes on
behind closed doors," said Tom Fitton, president of
Judicial Watch, an ethics watchdog group that has
filed suits over political fund-raising.
Both Democrats and Republicans, he said, "engage
in a shell game that from outside may look at times
technically legal, but when you get these
communications on contributions solicited for the
campaign, their technical arguments fall apart."
In an e-mail from May 31, 2001, Enron lobbyists
Rick Shapiro and Linda Robertson discuss a $50,000
contribution solicited by Republican organizations for
a dinner saluting President Bush and Vice President
Dick Cheney.
"With the assistance of Congressman Tom DeLay we
were able to apply our previously contributed soft
money toward this dinner. Consequently, we will be
credited as giving $250,000 to this event, even though
we are being asked to give only $50,000 in new soft
money," according to the e-mail sent to Enron's now
ex-chairman, Kenneth Lay, and a second executive.
Soft money contributions are made by companies and
individuals to political parties. These donations to
parties were outlawed by a campaign finance law that
went into effect in 2002. Other organizations still
can accept soft money dollars but are limited in how
they can spend them.
The e-mails show "pretty clearly corporations were
being asked for contributions by members of Congress
who held the fate of legislation important to
corporations in their hands," said Trevor Potter,
president and general counsel of the Campaign Legal
Center, a campaign finance monitoring group.
"There's always a risk this will creep back into
the system, and politicians will again try to raise
it. These e-mails point out the dangers of that to an
ethical form of government," said Potter, a former
member of the Federal Elections Commission, which
regulates political fund raising and spending.
Just as Enron wanted credit for its contribution,
Republican lawmakers vied for credit in raising the
money, e-mails show.
Bringing in lots of political money helps raise a
politician's stature in the party, said Edwin Bender,
executive director of the Institute on Money in State
Politics, based in Helena, Mont.
The Enron lobbyists said in the e-mail they would
split credit for $100,000 of the contribution among
DeLay; former House Majority Leader Dick Armey,
R-Texas; Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who is now chairman
of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; and Rep.
Billy Tauzin, R-La.
The lobbyists said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison,
R-Texas, "has requested that Enron give her some of
the credit" for the other $100,000 in the
contribution.
The e-mails have raised questions about whether
the contributions were being used to influence state
races in Texas. The state bans corporate money from
elections except for administrative purposes such as
paying rent.
An e-mail from July 24, 2000, says Lay and Enron's
president at the time, Jeffrey Skilling, received
"notes from Tom DeLay about designating portions of
their contributions for use in Texas." The e-mail says
DeLay has provided a letter for the company to use
when making a $100,000 contribution.
"They clearly are orchestrating this and trying to
thread the needle in terms of how to couch the
letters," Noble said. "But that goes on all the time.
People are told you have to do it this way if you want
to be legal."
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