Cheney must come clean over Enron
The Guardian
The White House is asking for trouble in an important
election year by adopting a bunker mentality over the
Enron scandal, writes Mark Tran
Monday January 28, 2002
As a veteran of Washington politics the US vice-president, Dick
Cheney, should know better than to pick a fight with Congress
over the Enron scandal.
The latest opinion polls bring scant comfort for the White House,
which must have been hoping that George Bush's lightning war
in Afghanistan would override any negative fallout from the Enron
collapse.
But the voters smell something fishy. A new poll by CBS and
the New York Times found that 45% of those surveyed believed
that Enron had closer ties to the Republican party than to the
Democrats, and more than half said the Bush administration
was either hiding something or lying about Enron.
But Mr Cheney still refuses to reveal to the general accounting
office (GAO), Congress's investigative arm, what was discussed
in six meetings he and his staff held this past year with Enron's
executives while the vice-president's office was drafting the
administration's national energy policy.
In his appearances yesterday on the news chat shows, Mr
Cheney tried to dress up his refusal on constitutional grounds. If
he gave in to congressional demands, he argued, it would further
erode the power of the presidency vis-à-vis Congress and it
would make it difficult for administration officials to consult
outside groups in the future on a confidential basis.
The administration has tried to distance itself from the financial
meltdown of Enron, the largest bankruptcy in US history. Mr
Bush last week described it as outrageous that employees did
not know all the facts about Enron. He also disclosed that his
mother-in-law, Jenna Welch, lost $8,100 (£5,700) in the Enron
collapse.
But these efforts to keep the whiff of scandal from drifting into
the White House will be ineffectual as long as the administration
digs in its heels over congressional requests for information.
By refusing to come clean on those White House meetings with
Enron, the administration will only reinforce public perception
that it has something to hide.
Mr Cheney has also accused the Democrats of making political
hay out of the scandal. Well, they would be a miserable excuse
for an opposition party if they failed to make a big stink.
The Republicans were none too shy in going after Bill Clinton
over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which seems tame stuff
compared to thousands of Enron employees seeing their
savings wiped out.
Besides, the charge of partisanship is a red herring. As the head
of the GAO, David Walker, points out, there are plenty of
Republicans who are seeking information. They have to - it
would be a gross dereliction of duty if they showed no curiousity
about the destruction of thousands of documents at Enron's
auditor, Arthur Andersen.
Mr Walker also points out that the GAO is seeking information
from Mr Cheney not in his constitutional role as vice-president
but as chairman of the interagency task force that consulted
executives and others from outside government.
Incidentally, Mr Walker has impeccable Republican credentials,
having been a delegate to a Republican national convention and
having served as an official in the Reagan administration.
Mr Walker plans to begin court action if the White House
refuses to budge, setting the scene for the biggest legal battle
between an administration and Congress since Watergate.
On that particular occasion, Richard Nixon won a case against a
Senate committee that was seeking information related to
campaign contributions and executive actions.
But we all know that it was a pyrrhic victory. No one is
suggesting that the Enron will have the same calamitous
outcome for Mr Bush.
However, the administration's stubborn refusal to hand over
information requested by Congress can only sully the
president's reputation and could damage the Republicans'
prospects in the November midterm elections, when almost
everything except the presidency will be up for grabs.
A third of the 100 Senate seats will be contested this year, all
the house seats, and most state governorships. The Democrats
hold the Senate by one seat and need just six to get control of
the House of Representatives.
The results will be crucial in setting the tone for the second half
of Mr Bush's term. If the Republicans are perceived as the party
of corporate fat cats, they could pay a political price for Enron.
That is why even veteran Republicans are grumbling that the
White House is picking the wrong fight over Enron.
Mr Cheney was around in Washington when Mr Nixon's world
caved in over Watergate. He should know that a bunker
mentality in such situations does no good in the long run.
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