Enron
Many of my younger readers (Robby and Eliott - this means you) have heard the name "Watergate" but have no idea of what it was. Simply put, President Nixon was involved with illegal activities and, when those illegal activities were found out, he denied everything. One of Nixon's minions in this coverup was John Dean. John Dean is an expert on Presidential coverups so his articles on the current Presidential coverup are pretty meaningful.
SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT ENRON'S CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS: Did Enron Successfully Buy Influence With The Money It Spent?
Enron spent big money in Washington. According to available records, Enron lavished near $5.8 million in political contributions on various candidates (Congresspersons, Senators, the President and Vice President) over the last decade, with almost seventy-five percent of it going to Republicans. Indeed, according to one report, Enron and its officials spent $2 million on George W. Bush's political career alone, starting with his first (unsuccessful) run for Congress.
What, I have been wondering, did spreading all that money around Washington accomplish? Notwithstanding protestations to the contrary, American businessmen don't make large political contributions because they love their country. Rather they are investments, on which they want a return. But what did Enron get for its money? As discussed below, I have concluded it received quite a lot. [read more]
GAO V. CHENEY IS BIG-TIME STALLING: The Vice President Can Win Only If We Have Another Bush v. Gore -like Ruling
Vice President Dick Cheney has thrown down the gauntlet. He has refused to give the General Accounting Office the very limited information they have requested about the work of his energy task force. (GAO, created in 1921 during the Harding Administration, has from its inception been an independent and nonpartisan agency of the Congress, charged with studying the programs and expenditures of the federal government.)
Cheney says he is refusing to provide information to the Congress as a matter of principle. He told the Today Show that he wants to "protect the ability of the president and the vice president to get unvarnished advice from any source we want." That sounds all too familiar to me. I worked for Richard Nixon.
In fact, not since Richard Nixon stiffed the Congress during Watergate has a White House so openly, and arrogantly, defied Congress's investigative authority. Nor has any activity by the Bush Administration more strongly suggested they are hiding the incriminating information about their relationship with the now- moribund Enron, or other heavy-hitting campaign contributors from the energy business. [read more]
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