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CNN Live At Daybreak
The First Anniversary Enron's Declaration of Bankruptcy
Aired December 02, 2002 - 06:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now we want to talk about Enron. It is one year today since the energy giant went belly up.
Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey is here with us in Atlanta this morning.
Good morning.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Nice to see you in person.
COFFEY: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: So one year later, has the Enron debacle really changed anything?
COFFEY: Well, it's sure changed a lot of things from prosecution strategies. Enron was the flagship in the pirate fleet that was sailing through the roaring '90s. And when it crashed a year ago in bankruptcy, you began to see a real transformation in the intensity and in the velocity of prosecution strategies.
COSTELLO: What do you think is going to happen to Andrew Fastow, the chief financial officer of Enron? And do you think that he'll spill information to help prosecutors?
COFFEY: Well, the big question is going to be can the CFOs, like Fastow, and in the case of WorldCom, Sullivan, take you higher up the ladder. And what the prosecutors have done is use a lot of the tools that were traditionally used in cases against organized crime and drug cartels, focusing on cooperation. Get that person to basically turn on the same individual who might have been his or her mentor in the corporate structure two years ago, because that person now may be their ticket to get reduced jail time.
COSTELLO: It'll be interesting to follow that trial. The Supreme Court is going to decide this week on whether to take up the issue of affirmative action.
COFFEY: This is such a divisive issue. Even in 1978, the Supreme Court didn't have five justices of a same mind. The decision that they're reviewing now was a very close and terribly split decision. The big question is not rigid quotas. That's clearly illegal. But whether minority status can be a plus factor along with other circumstances in the evaluation of a minority who's seeking to apply to higher education.
Clearly, the Supreme Court has dealt with very controversial issues in education recently. We know vouchers. They've got a lot on their plate, perhaps, with respect to security issues. The big question now is do they want to take on something this controversial, this polarizing, this divisive.
COSTELLO: It'll be interesting.
Winona Ryder in court Friday. Give me a quick prediction.
COFFEY: Well, the prosecutor says no jail time. If Saks, the victim, says no jail time, she's probably home free. And remember, Saks not only is going to get paid back everything at full retail, they probably got a million dollars worth of free advertising out of this.
COSTELLO: Probably so.
Kendall Coffey, thanks.
COFFEY: Thanks, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 2, 2002 - 06:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now we want to talk about Enron. It is one year today since the energy giant went belly up.
Our legal analyst Kendall Coffey is here with us in Atlanta this morning.
Good morning.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Nice to see you in person.
COFFEY: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: So one year later, has the Enron debacle really changed anything?
COFFEY: Well, it's sure changed a lot of things from prosecution strategies. Enron was the flagship in the pirate fleet that was sailing through the roaring '90s. And when it crashed a year ago in bankruptcy, you began to see a real transformation in the intensity and in the velocity of prosecution strategies.
COSTELLO: What do you think is going to happen to Andrew Fastow, the chief financial officer of Enron? And do you think that he'll spill information to help prosecutors?
COFFEY: Well, the big question is going to be can the CFOs, like Fastow, and in the case of WorldCom, Sullivan, take you higher up the ladder. And what the prosecutors have done is use a lot of the tools that were traditionally used in cases against organized crime and drug cartels, focusing on cooperation. Get that person to basically turn on the same individual who might have been his or her mentor in the corporate structure two years ago, because that person now may be their ticket to get reduced jail time.
COSTELLO: It'll be interesting to follow that trial. The Supreme Court is going to decide this week on whether to take up the issue of affirmative action.
COFFEY: This is such a divisive issue. Even in 1978, the Supreme Court didn't have five justices of a same mind. The decision that they're reviewing now was a very close and terribly split decision. The big question is not rigid quotas. That's clearly illegal. But whether minority status can be a plus factor along with other circumstances in the evaluation of a minority who's seeking to apply to higher education.
Clearly, the Supreme Court has dealt with very controversial issues in education recently. We know vouchers. They've got a lot on their plate, perhaps, with respect to security issues. The big question now is do they want to take on something this controversial, this polarizing, this divisive.
COSTELLO: It'll be interesting.
Winona Ryder in court Friday. Give me a quick prediction.
COFFEY: Well, the prosecutor says no jail time. If Saks, the victim, says no jail time, she's probably home free. And remember, Saks not only is going to get paid back everything at full retail, they probably got a million dollars worth of free advertising out of this.
COSTELLO: Probably so.
Kendall Coffey, thanks.
COFFEY: Thanks, Carol.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
