Former chairman of Enron
to take Fifth before Congress
By Steven Thomma
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON (KRT) — For
mer Enron Corp. chairman Ken
neth Lay will invoke his Constitu
tional right against self
incrimination and refuse to answer
questions before Congress on Tues
day, a spokeswoman said Sunday.
“Under the instruction of coun
sel, Mr. Lay will exercise his Fifth
Amendment rights at the Tuesday
hearing,” spokeswoman Kelly
Kimberly said in Houston. She de
clined to elaborate.
Lay’s decision was not a sur
prise. He had canceled a voluntary
appearance before Congress a
week ago, saying hearings on the
collapse of Enron had turned accu
satory. He was subsequently sub
poenaed to appear, starting with a
scheduled command appearance
before the Senate Commerce Com
mittee on Tuesday.
Even before Lay’s announce
ment, Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C.,
the committee chairman, said he
expected it from a man he called
“the poster child of cash and car
ry” government.
“Lay has got a good lawyer,”
Hollings said on CBS’s “Face the
Nation.” “I can’t see, with things
having gotten worse all week
long, him testifying now. ... They
say he is still coming, but I don’t
believe it.”
Four other Enron executives cit
ed their Fifth Amendment rights
last week, and the partner fired by
Enron’s accounting firm also has
declined to testify.
r
Lay’s announcement came just
hours after Hollings and two other
congressional chairmen said that
they believed another former En
ron executive lied in his appear
ance before Congress last week.
Jeffrey Skilling, the company’s
former chief executive, lied when
he denied under oath that he was
warned of problems with complex.
“I can’t see, with things
having gotten worse all
week long, (Kenneth Lay)
testifying now.... They say
he is still coming, but I don’t
believe it.”
Fritz Hollings
senator, D-S.C.
Enron partnerships hid debt and
contributed to the company’s
bankruptcy, the lawmakers said.
One said he could face perjury
charges.
“That could happen ... he could
have some real problems,” said
Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman
of the House Energy and Com
merce Committee. “We’re hearing
from others in his operation that
he came to us and told us a lot of
untruths. If he did that ... there’s
some consequences.”
Skilling’s attorney said Sunday
that his client cooperated with
congressional investigators and
that he never denied knowing
about a critical partnership.
“We are shocked at the unsup
ported charges being leveled at our
client by those in a position to
know of their inaccuracies,” attor
ney Bruce Hiler said.
Hollings scoffed at Skilling’s
testimony that he did not know
about numerous Enron business
practices.
“Nobody does think he was
telling the truth,” Hollings said.
Rep. Jim Greenwood, R-Pa.,
chairman of a House Energy inves
tigative subcommittee, said he
wanted to believe Skilling when
the former CEO appeared before
his subcommittee.
“He was so earnest, talked
about the fact that his best friend
committed suicide, and he want
ed to be open,” Greenwood said
on CBS.
“He came without need of sub
poena, didn’t take the Fifth. I
wanted to believe him. But after
that, he became noncredible.”
Tauzin said Skilling appeared to
believe that he could outsmart
Congress.
“He really thought he was
smarter than everyone in Washing
ton, that he could come and just
bamboozle us, just tell us anything
he wanted and we would buy it,”
Tauzin said “I’m afraid he may
have put himself in legal jeopardy
as a result.
“You can’t come to Congress,
take the oath to tell the truth, and
then not tell the truth without
some problems.”
©2002, Knight Ridder Tribune
Information Services.
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