February 4, 2002

6:39 PM

They can't find Ken Lay.Via Reuters. Scroll down to "more business news". My guess is he headed for high ground.
posted by bas67 (62 comments total)

Maybe he split for Switzerland to hang out with Marc Rich and wait for his presidential pardon?
posted by MrBaliHai at 6:44 PM on February 4, 2002

I have a friend who knows this girl who said she heard that Lay was living in Dick Cheney's basement. They should check there.
posted by holycola at 6:48 PM on February 4, 2002

Maybe they should check to see if he's hiding out in the Lincoln Bedroom.
posted by SenshiNeko at 6:48 PM on February 4, 2002

They should check his car.
posted by Doug at 7:05 PM on February 4, 2002

you saw it here first! watch for my infomercial!
posted by quonsar at 7:06 PM on February 4, 2002

Haven't you people heard? He's poverty-stricken now. Someone should be checking all the soup kitchens and shelters for that poor man!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:12 PM on February 4, 2002

Ken Lay "a tremendous flight risk"? I don't think so....I believe he would have a hard time hiding. And I seriously doubt he's going to take off and go to Argentina or anything like that.

Although will I admit that, in light of the Reuters article, you are the next best thing to Nostradamus, I think it's more likely that he, e.g. taking a crap and had his cell phone turned off, banging the old lady, taking a nap, going for a walk at the lake, etc. Anything less cool and movie-like than "he's taken a private jet to a his cabin in the alps, where he's counting his money and plotting world domination with the rest of the illuminati".

BTW, if he does turn out to be in his cabin in the alps, my apologies.
posted by dr_emory at 7:15 PM on February 4, 2002

"Yeah, this is AC. I've got Kenny Boy in the car. He just wants to see his wife..."
posted by owillis at 7:15 PM on February 4, 2002

I think that him disappearing isn't a big deal. His money disappearing is :) Where's his money ?
posted by elpapacito at 7:20 PM on February 4, 2002

I think it's more likely that he, e.g. taking a crap and had his cell phone turned off, banging the old lady, taking a nap, going for a walk at the lake, etc.

Hahahahaha.... *wipes tears from eyes* That's funny... oh, wait, you were serious. Sorry. *snicker*
posted by eyeballkid at 7:38 PM on February 4, 2002

Ken got his international start flying his VP's on the Ron Brown express. Everyone Clinton touched has turned to tombstone.
posted by Real9 at 7:40 PM on February 4, 2002

This morning, when I was driving to work, I turned my head to look at a girl in a tube top and slammed into the car in front of me.

I blame Bill Clinton.
posted by MegoSteve at 7:52 PM on February 4, 2002

I blame Bill Clinton.

Well, seriously, how could you not?
posted by warhol at 7:57 PM on February 4, 2002

This morning, when I was driving to work, I turned my head to look at a girl in a tube top and realized she was Bill Clinton.
posted by quonsar at 7:57 PM on February 4, 2002

I can't say this is a surprise. It is kind of cloak and dagger though.
posted by McBain at 8:01 PM on February 4, 2002

(three years later...)

Man 1: "Get the Gimp."
Man 2: "The Gimp's sleeping."
Man 1: "Well, you'll just have to wake him up then."
(Man 2 returns with the Gimp.)
Man 3: "Mr. Lay, here's your subpoena."
posted by billder at 8:13 PM on February 4, 2002

And Arafat says he's promoting PEACE.
So much for the powers-that-be Bullshit.
posted by HTuttle at 8:22 PM on February 4, 2002

Double-check Tora Bora.
posted by dhartung at 8:29 PM on February 4, 2002

Ken is practicing his fifth amendment speech. In the 50's we had fifth amendment communists and now in the ? oughts it appears we will have fifth amendment capitalists. Isn't this the same group that told the muslims if you have nothing to hide why wouldn't you want to talk to the authorities.

An aside. Can someone explain to me what Mr. Arafat has to do with this thread.
posted by onegoodmove at 8:36 PM on February 4, 2002

I blame yassir arafat.
posted by jpoulos at 8:40 PM on February 4, 2002

This morning, when I was driving to work, I turned my head to look at a girl in a tube top and realized she was Yassir Arafat.

posted by quonsar at 8:43 PM on February 4, 2002

Well, if I was in his position, I'd get the hell out to. But then again, I don't really think it would be possible to for me to be in his position either.

Everyone knows you should keep a huge liquid pool (a-la-microsoft) around to cover up any corporate fuckups. Sheesh.
posted by delmoi at 8:50 PM on February 4, 2002

IANAL, but as far as I know, it really doesn't matter where he is until they actually subpoena him. For those who haven't looked beyond link posted in the parent, here's a link from CNN:

"U.S. Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-South Carolina, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said he would convene the committee Tuesday to "get authority" to subpoena Lay. A House panel that was also snubbed by Lay has already authorized its chairman to subpoena Lay. If Lay is subpoenaed..."

*IF* lay is subpoenaed? So we won't know anything until tomorrow (or later today depeding on your time zone). I don't think he's in any violation of "hiding out" until they actually try to serve the subpoena. Why not wait until then to cry about this? I'm with dr_emory on this one. Heck, I'd probably want to get away once last time before the sh*t hits the fan too. Flame away if I missed something.
posted by stormy at 8:58 PM on February 4, 2002

Maybe they should check to see if he's hiding out in the Lincoln Bedroom.

Ken Lay has indeed spent the night in the Lincoln Bedroom ... as a paid guest of one William Jefferson Clinton.

(Sometimes the throws are so poor it's as if the pitcher intentionally wants to see the ball knocked out of the park.)

posted by aaron at 9:10 PM on February 4, 2002

Your own park, I take it?
posted by raysmj at 9:20 PM on February 4, 2002

Welcome back, aaron.
posted by raysmj at 9:21 PM on February 4, 2002

(Sometimes the throws are so poor it's as if the pitcher intentionally wants to see the ball knocked out of the park.)

Could it be Enron field?
posted by onegoodmove at 9:27 PM on February 4, 2002

Well, hello aaron. I have missed those little tidbits. Please stay around.
posted by bjgeiger at 10:14 PM on February 4, 2002

onegoodmove: Hahahaha
posted by delmoi at 10:15 PM on February 4, 2002

hello. thanks guys.
posted by aaron at 10:33 PM on February 4, 2002

Well, if I was in his position, I'd get the hell out to.

I'd give all the money back to those nice people with grandbabies who worked at Enron, and then I'd kiss the politicians' hands and shake babies. Oh, I mean...kiss the babies and shake the politicians' hands.
posted by Modem Ovary at 10:52 PM on February 4, 2002

No, kiss the babies' hands and shake the politicians.
posted by cortex at 11:27 PM on February 4, 2002

"He's fleeing the interview!"

Say, did I ever tell you kids the story of Robert Vesco? No? Well, you'll get a hella kick out of this....
posted by dglynn at 11:36 PM on February 4, 2002

Made me think of Roy Schieder in "The Rainmaker" before "Fargo".
posted by McBain at 12:46 AM on February 5, 2002

He better not be runnin' from the law. Only freedom hating terrorists run from the law don't they?

(Hey aaron)
posted by crasspastor at 1:39 AM on February 5, 2002

Hehe. He's been 'mis-layed'.
posted by dlewis at 2:35 AM on February 5, 2002

Mildly different subjext, but I've been watching America Now on "MSNBC on msn.com" while on holiday in Mexico, which is talking about enron every night, and was wondering if there was an online feed to it?
posted by wibbler at 3:44 AM on February 5, 2002

In the 50's we had fifth amendment communists and now in the ? oughts it appears we will have fifth amendment capitalists.

Nice line, I thought when I heard Daniel Schorr speak these very same words on NPR yesterday afternoon!
posted by luser at 5:04 AM on February 5, 2002

Ken Lay has indeed spent the night in the Lincoln Bedroom ... as a paid guest of one George H. W. Bush. They're really good friends ya' know.
posted by nofundy at 5:29 AM on February 5, 2002

And Arafat says he's promoting PEACE.

And the award for non-sequiter of the day goes to...
posted by holycola at 5:43 AM on February 5, 2002

good catch, luser...
posted by y2karl at 6:56 AM on February 5, 2002

Actually, I don't recall Bush ever having Ken over for a slumber party... you must be thinking of the $100,000 Clinton got from Lay.
posted by stormy at 7:11 AM on February 5, 2002

Has anyone checked Lincoln’s bedroom?
posted by wfrgms at 7:21 AM on February 5, 2002

So Clinton got one sixth what Bush got from Lay?

<Dangerfield>No respect, no respect at all...</Dangerfield>
posted by NortonDC at 7:44 AM on February 5, 2002

I have a feel that invoking Bill Clinton will be the Godwin's Law of the new millenium.
posted by jpoulos at 8:16 AM on February 5, 2002

The Senate Commerce Committee has now issued a subpoena for Ken Lay. Reuters calls it a second subpoena, and quotes a Lay spokesperson as saying his whereabouts are now known. He's reportedly in Houston, having flown back from Washington. (In short, he avoided the first subpoena when he was in Washington, forcing taxpayers to spent a smidgen more on hauling his ass to hearings. CEO types are often totally cut off from any human contact, y'know.)
posted by raysmj at 9:07 AM on February 5, 2002

Nice line, I thought when I heard Daniel Schorr speak these very same words on NPR yesterday afternoon!

Indeed it was, I couldn't remember at the time where I had read or heard that.
posted by onegoodmove at 9:09 AM on February 5, 2002

" Actually, I don't recall Bush ever having Ken over for a slumber party"

Too bad your memory fails you on this subject. Poppy Bush did indeed have Kenneth Lay at a sleep over. Look it up if you don't choose to believe me. It's true. The first recorded instance of the Lincoln bedroom being rented out to a large contributor I do believe. Sorry to burst your Clinton-hating bubble.
posted by nofundy at 9:16 AM on February 5, 2002

48 comments and nobody mentioned Bush 'Smoking Out' Ken Lay. You're slipping people.
posted by schlyer at 9:38 AM on February 5, 2002

nofundy - Poppy Bush did indeed have Kenneth Lay at a sleep over.

Poppy as in George Sr? Have we decended into just throwing everything bad about the Bush family onto GW now?

Oh, thats right, we already have.
posted by schlyer at 9:41 AM on February 5, 2002

Bush...Lay...sleepover...it practically writes itself.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:43 AM on February 5, 2002

Poppy as in George Sr? Have we decended into just throwing everything bad about the Bush family onto GW now?

Of course! But in any case the accusation is false. The use of the Lincoln Bedroom as quid pro quo for donations was invented by the Clinton Administration. Bush the Elder bitterly complained about Clinton's actions when that Democratic fundraising scandal first broke in '96. (Oh, by the way, I looked it up, instead of merely tossing out the smear and accusing others of somehow "forgetting the truth". I even used as a pointer an article that certainly brings up some appearance-of-impropriety issues with GWB's gubernatorial past on the exact same subject.)

If Ken Lay ever spent the night in the Lincoln Bedroom during the George HW Bush administration (and yes, I would enjoy seeing actual citation of that - and I'll point out a news article saying Ken Lay walked through the doors of the White House at any point during those four years is not proof he stayed overnight in the Lincoln Bedroom), it was indeed because they were friends, not because Lay renewed his RNC membership at the Platinum Contributor level. Imagine, an oil executive from Houston somehow managing to become friends with an energy executive from Houston. Amazing coincidence, that. Next thing you know cops from different precincts will be getting together for beers after work somewhere!

(BTW, there is no Bush Sr and Bush Jr. The Elder is George Herbert Walker Bush, and the son is George Walker Bush, Not George Herbert Walker Bush, Jr. There are certain types that love to call GWB "Junior" just because of the vaguely negative connotations the term "Junior" has, but as usual it has no basis in reality.)

posted by aaron at 11:39 AM on February 5, 2002

Thanks aaron. Now I can re-inflate my Clinton-hating bubble. ;)
posted by schlyer at 11:49 AM on February 5, 2002

"I have a friend who knows this girl who said she heard that Lay was living in Dick Cheney's basement..."

"Thank you, Simone."
posted by metrocake at 12:06 PM on February 5, 2002

George H.W. Bush was not an oil executive in Houston during the 1980s, when Enron formed. He was vice president of the United States. Lay had previously been the head of Houston Natural Gas, which he only joined in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan and George the Elder's election to a second term in office. From 1981 to 1984 he was the head of a company called Transco Energy in Houston.

In any case, absolutely not hard to believe they might have known each other (especially given the elder Bush's connections to Pennzoil, whose founding he shares connections with - see the Zapata oil story in a million places online), but George H.W. Bush was also the head of the CIA, running for the Republican nomination for president, etc., before Ken Lay's rise to real power in Houston. Hell, Clinton probably had as much of a chance to actually meet him in Little Rock (home of an investment bank, Stephens Inc., that George W. Bush worked with over the years). He was closer by most of the time, at least.
posted by raysmj at 12:59 PM on February 5, 2002

So, like GHWB may or may not have had a Lay in the Lincoln bedroom, Bill Clinton definitely had a Lay in the Lincoln bedroom, and, according to the article headline, the "House Panel Can't Find Enron's Lay". I suggest that if Enron wishes to get lucky, they should head to the Lincoln bedroom, no?
posted by dchase at 1:08 PM on February 5, 2002

Maybe Lay is fleeing the Evil Axis
posted by jonah at 3:06 PM on February 5, 2002

BTW, there is no Bush Sr and Bush Jr. The Elder is George Herbert Walker Bush, and the son is George Walker Bush, Not George Herbert Walker Bush, Jr.

Eat me.

oh, and welcome back aaron. we missed you.
posted by jpoulos at 8:49 PM on February 5, 2002

Thanks jpoulos, ya bastard. <g>
posted by aaron at 10:25 PM on February 5, 2002

BTW, Josh Marshall is doing some really really great Enron stuff.
posted by Mid at 6:15 AM on February 6, 2002

Next thing you know cops from different precincts will be getting together for beers after work somewhere!

And I certainly don't mind if they do as long as those cops aren't meeting with the Vice President to come up with a crime policy that will help line their pockets. And as long as said VP doesn't then say it is none of my business to know why these cops were meeting with him (in secret). And as long as these cops aren't giving money to the VP and the President in large truckloads before the VP and the President are selected by the Supreme Court--all while their employees retirement funds are going down the crapper while their golden parachutes land them safely.

As long as those things aren't happening in this "friendship" I don't mind. ;)
posted by terrapin at 10:09 AM on February 6, 2002

And sometimes the ball just hits you in the face. Spinsanity is now saying that Ken Lay never stayed overnight on Clinton's watch. So I retract. Oof.
posted by aaron at 5:08 PM on February 25, 2002