"White House Must Be Investigated for Role in Enron’s Fraud" [View all]

[ProSense]

Blind Faith: How Deregulation and Enron’s Influence Over Government Looted Billions from Americans
Sen. Gramm, White House Must Be Investigated for Role in Enron’s Fraud of Consumers and Shareholders
December 2001
http://www.citizen.org/documents/Blind_Faith.PDF

President Bush’s presidential campaign received significant financial support from Enron ($1.14 million).

Upon assuming office in 2001, Bush promptly scrapped plans put into place by former President Bill Clinton to significantly limit the effectiveness of these countries as tax and bank regulation havens. This action came at the height of high West Coast energy prices, probably allowing Enron to siphon billions to its offshore accounts.

At the same time, the Bush administration and certain members of Congress waged a legislative and public relations campaign against the imposition of federal price controls in the Western electricity market. Such price controls remove the ability of companies exercising significant market share to price-gouge by effectively re-regulating the market. Bush’s opposition to price controls unnecessarily extended the California energy crisis and cost the state billions of dollars.

Require testimony or written answers from key Bush administration officials. These should include Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, to answer questions about whether Enron representatives or their agents discussed policies regarding treaties with tax haven nations; political adviser Karl Rove, to answer questions about Enron’s influence over Bush energy policy; Republican National Committee chairman Marc Racicot, to answer questions about his lobbying efforts before FERC and Congress as a paid lobbyist on behalf of Enron; Vice President Dick Cheney to answer questions about his secret meeting with Enron chief executive Kenneth Lay; and finally, President Bush, to answer questions about his knowledge of Enron’s efforts to influence policy on energy and offshore tax/banking havens.

The Bushes and Lehman Brothers

In the arms race by private-equity firms to line up ever-higher profile "advisers," Lehman Brothers may have just taken the lead. The investment bank hired former Florida governor and presidential son and brother Jeb Bush for its in-house investing arm.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118860733605915338.html

George Herbert Walker IV (born April 1969) is the Chairman and CEO of Neuberger Berman. Formerly a Partner and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, Walker was recruited to rival investment bank, Lehman Brothers, to head its Investment Management Division, of which Neuberger was a part. Following Lehman's bankruptcy and the announcement of the sale of Neuberger, Walker assumed his present position.

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Walker began his career on Wall Street when he joined Goldman Sachs in the Merger Department in 1992 and six years later, in 1998, became of one of the firm's youngest partners ever.[4] He held several senior positions at Goldman, including co-head of the firm's Wealth Management business, and head of Alternative Investment strategies. In May 2006, Walker resigned from Goldman Sachs to become global head of Lehman Brothers' Investment Management.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Herbert_Walker_IV

Why can't Obama be more like Bush? Who is missing Dubya?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024828575