January 22, 2002

1:53 PM

FBI investigating Enron shreddingSome recent postings of commentary seem to feel that Enron wea merely the fault of public not paying attention to stock pics, or the failure of a company that is a risk of the open market....why, then, the FBI being called to find out why key documents destroyed? And whn does it become time for a special prosecutor? This is much bigger than Whitewater. Example: some 1.3 billion lost in pension money for firemen, police and teachers
posted by Postroad (11 comments total)

yeah, bigger than whitewater monetarily, but there's no hope of finding a smoking gun to tie any top Republicans to any scandal, which makes the story little more than a blip on the radar in the grand scheme. but since the public is bored of the war on terrorism, Enron serves as a time-filler for parasitic journalists until the next catastrophe.
posted by brassneck at 3:05 PM on January 22, 2002

While personally I'd like nothing more than to see the Bush adminstration toppled because of Enron or yet another war for oil or whatever other dirty dealings it's in, that's hardly the point. Enron is one ugly stinking mess and there are definite ties to the administration that may or may not equal corruption. That's the point of an investigation. As long as conservatives like brassneck (the same folks who thought spending millions on investigating Whitewater was a good investment) walk around with their fingers in their ears essentially shouting, "lalalalalalala," there will be no meaningful dialogue. Fortunately, not all conservative thinkers are so blind. It's gotta be possible to be a Republican without blindly denying that leaders can do no wrong, it just has to be. Or is the Republican, Bible thumping, conservative Kool-Aid just too strong?
posted by shagoth at 3:49 PM on January 22, 2002

> there are definite ties to the administration that may or
> may not equal corruption. That's the point of an
> investigation.

That's a point of the investigation. Another point, which may have escaped those for whom Bush is the only villain in the Known Universe, is the extremely sleazy and well-lubricated relations between large corporations and the auditing firms that are supposed to be keeping them more or less honest, or else informing regulators, investors and plain old cops about the cooked books. If anything constructive comes out of that aspect of the investigation(s) then something worthwhile will have happened whether the administration is caught in illegalities à la Watergate or not.
posted by jfuller at 4:07 PM on January 22, 2002

As long as conservatives like brassneck (the same folks who thought spending millions on investigating Whitewater was a good investment)

ignorant statements like that always look so intelligent in these threads.

i have no qualms with a reasonable investigation. if wrong-doing took place, i, of course, think the appropriate actions should be taken, whether the culprits be high-ranking Republicans or not.

my point here was that journalists seem so desperate to make this "another whitewater" that it's somewhat embarrassing.
posted by brassneck at 4:09 PM on January 22, 2002

The "Special Prosecutor" law expired and was not renewed.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 4:49 PM on January 22, 2002

yeah, bigger than whitewater monetarily, but there's no hope of finding a smoking gun to tie any top Republicans to any scandal...

Yeah, I'm sure it'll be hard to find a smoking gun (Republicans being known for their ethical purity when it comes to moneymaking and business and all). And it'll be particularly hard to find a smoking gun if the right papers get shredded (which has been happening) and the Bush administration continues to refuse to reveal details of meetings between the Department of Energy (et al) and Enron.

Oh. But the shredding is just for making ticker tape, right? And Bush stonewalling is for national security or executive privilege or some such.

Right?
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 4:49 PM on January 22, 2002

Was a smoking gun ever found in Whitewater? I thought prosecutors only found a blue dress, which had nothing to do with the Whitewater mess per se.
posted by raysmj at 4:55 PM on January 22, 2002

The shredding was to cover Arthur Andersons tukus, not their bush.
posted by Mick at 5:18 PM on January 22, 2002

This isn't "another Whitewater" because Whitewater was a nonstory. Clearly, a bunch of well-heeled Republicans ripping off the little guy and trying to cover up is a story.
posted by Slagman at 5:34 PM on January 22, 2002

What politicians never seem to learn is that the cover-up is always much more damaging than the crime. Was there a crime here? I have no idea... but it smells like one. And Bush Inc. is behaving like they are in full cover-up mode whether they have a reason to or not... As far as the political damage goes, it seems to me that it doesn't really matter what 'really' happened. The story will continue to snowball until someone puts the fire out. (sorry if I mixed my metaphors there... I've had a couple o' beers tonite...)
posted by spilon at 10:59 PM on January 22, 2002

The story will continue to snowball until someone puts the fire out.

The Hell, you say?
posted by y2karl at 11:03 PM on January 22, 2002