Enron President Lawrence "Greg" Whalley called Treasury Undersecretary Peter Fisher "six to eight times" in late October and early November, said department spokeswoman Michele Davis.
It was the first indication that the energy-trading firm, which has ties to many top Bush administration officials, had asked for government intervention as it faced collapse.
"As Enron's negotiations with its bankers for an extension of credit neared a decision point, the president of Enron asked Undersecretary Fisher to call the banks," Davis said.
Fisher "inferred he was being asked to encourage the banks to extend credit. He made no such calls," she said.
Emphasizing that it wasn't only Bush administration officials who were close to Enron, the Treasury Department also disclosed Friday evening that former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, a Democrat, had sought Fisher's intervention on behalf of Enron.
Rubin, now chairman of the executive committee of financial giant Citigroup, called Fisher on Nov. 8, at a time that rating agencies were poised to downgrade their opinions on the financial status of Enron.
"Rubin asked Fisher what he thought of the idea of Fisher placing a call to rating agencies to encourage them to work with Enron's bankers to see if there was an alternative to an immediate downgrade," said Davis.
"Fisher responded that he didn't think it advisable to make such a call," said the Treasury spokeswoman. Rubin said he thought that was a reasonable position. Fisher made no such call."
Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest bank, is among a group of banks that lent hundreds of millions of dollars to Enron, hoping to keep it going so earlier loans would be repaid. Citigroup was said to be owed about $800 million.
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