ENRON SCANDAL ROCKS THE WHITE HOUSE

(1/20/02) In the aftermath of the biggest bankruptcy in the history of the world by Dubya's best friends in Corporate America, it is becoming increasingly clear that Enron's tentacles reach deep into the administration and right into the Oval Office.  Enron, Dubya's biggest political supporter, donated $725,000 to Dubya directly and millions of dollars to the RNC.

It is now well documented that Enron doctored its books, engaged in shady if not downright illegal business practices, and froze its employees out of their retirement funds while the top management cleaned out the accounts and pocketed the money themselves.

A brief accounting of Dubya and his cronies connections to Enron follows:

Poppy Bush - longtime pal of Enron CEO Kenneth Lay, Poppy appointed Lay to head two host committee.

Dick Cheney - met with Enron officials six times while forming national energy policy and has refused to reveal minutes of meetings to Congress.

John Ashcroft - recused himself from the Justice Department's probe of the Enron case because he is the recipient of $57,000 in campaign donations from Enron.

Paul O'Neill (Treasury Secretary) - discussed a possible government bailout with Ken Lay in October, the day before Enron's credit rating was downgraded.

Marc Racicot (RNC Chairman Nominee) - Dubya's handpicked to lead the RNC is on the payroll of a firm that lobbies for Enron.

Don Evans (Commerce Secretary) - Recipient of Enron campaign donations, spoke with Ken Lay in October.

Pat Wood (Chair of FERC) - The powerful chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was handpicked by Ken Lay after he convinced Dubya to fire Curtis Hebert, Jr.

Lawrence Lindsey (White House Economic Advisor) - Former Enron Consultant, they paid him $50,000 in 2000 before he moved to Dubya's staff.

Karl Rove (White House Senior Advisor) - Waited 5 months after taking office to sell more than $100,000 worth of Enron stock.

This is a developing story; watch for further updates as new information becomes available.