NEW YORK: The Enron Corporation’s downfall could have far-reaching impact on the Bush administration for time to come and it could very well unravel the presidency, which until now looks rock solid in the aftermath of the US war in Afghanistan which is deemed successful.
The Enron scandal smacks of the Reagan administration’s handling of the downfall of savings and loans and the Iran Contra affair which undermined the administartion the former President Reagan and former President Bush senior.
On Sunday on various talk shows, including ABC’s This week , Vice President Dick Cheney said the White House was prepared to go to court to fight the release of documents demanded by Congress as part of the investigation into any influence the Enron Corporation had in formulating the Bush administration’s energy policy.
Mr Cheney said the General Accounting Office, the agency demanding the documents, was overstepping its authority and that he had a right to keep the documents secret to preserve his ability to get “unvarnished” advice from outside consultants.
David M. Walker, the head of the General Accounting Office, responded in an interview with the New York Times that it was now “highly likely” that he would file a lawsuit against the Bush administration if Mr. Cheney did not turn over the documents by the end of this week.
Of the vice president’s assertion that the agency was overstepping its bounds, Mr. Walker, the comptroller general of the United States, replied, “Talk is cheap.”
It would be the first time that the accounting office, the investigative arm of Congress, sued another government department for not cooperating with an inquiry.
At issue is how much Enron, a major contributor to the Republican Party, influenced the Bush energy plan, which eases environmental rules, opens public land to drilling and provides tax incentives to energy companies for exploration, the NYT said.
Enron and the White House have acknowledged that Enron executives met five times with Mr Cheney or members of his staff about energy last year, and documents from the meetings could show whether the administration policy mirrored any specific recommendations of Enron’s.
A lawsuit would increase pressure on Mr Cheney, who is under criticism from Democrats for his relationship with Enron. “Now, the fact is, Enron didn’t get any special deals,” Mr. Cheney said on ABC.