Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Michael Weisskozpf

Aired January 13, 2002 - 08:10   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now four Congressional committees are looking into what went on at Enron before the company filed for the largest bankruptcy in history. And, too, we wanted to point out that more than 250 lawmakers on Capitol Hill received campaign contributions from Enron.

"TIME" magazine's Senior Correspondent Michael Weisskozpf joins us now from Washington to further discuss the political fallout from this bankruptcy and the investigations.

Good to see you, Michael.

MICHAEL WEISSKOZPF, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Good to be here.

PHILLIPS: Well, we received a number of e-mails from viewers on this subject matter. Remember yesterday, actually, we did a reporter's notebook talking about the subject matter. And if you don't mind, can I just read some of these e-mails to you and have you respond to them?

WEISSKOZPF: Please.

PHILLIPS: OK. This one comes from Jean. It's one of the first ones -- we got a couple hundred of these actually. "I'm a stock investor that still owns my Enron shares. What will happen to the stockholder's shares in the Enron debacle?"

WEISSKOZPF: There are shareholder suits ongoing now, and most of their arguments is directed against the insider trading by 29 top Enron executives who unloaded about $1 billion worth of shares before they dropped.

PHILLIPS: Now, a lot of people have been talking about this situation as the next -- next White Water. Do you think that's going a little too far?

WEISSKOZPF: Well, certainly, the administration has a perception problem already because of its long-standing political connections with Enron and Ken Lay, its Chairman. However, any scandal needs more than that. And unless we find any type of official action in this administration which favored Enron, I would guess that this would have short life.

PHILLIPS: This question comes from Dale -- this e-mail -- the question is, "What kind of tax advantages did Enron reap as a result of its political campaign contributions?"

WEISSKOZPF: None. Taxes are -- campaign contributions are not tax deductible.

PHILLIPS: Now, Enron executives gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions. From your perspective, as a correspondent covering this story, does it appear that this was a company that gave money to get what they wanted from the government? Do you think there was a favor exchange here?

WEISSKOZPF: Corporations are not charitable when it comes to political careers. They all have some motivation. However, even the wiliest of corporate executives realize those contributions only take you so far. It probably only gets you an audience, which is a great deal more than the ordinary American gets. But an opportunity to put your argument to decision-makers, that's what they got.

PHILLIPS: Michael, another e-mail. This one comes from Kevin. "As a laymen to the inner workings of the legal system, I don't quite understand the delay in bringing Enron executives to justice. They clearly violated the law and misrepresented the company's financial standings to their workers and the world. What kind of outcome can the American people expect in this case, and when?"

WEISSKOZPF: That's really the job of these investigating committees in Congress; also, the Justice Department and the SEC. It must be proven that company executives were aware of misleading the public while they were hiding losses. You need to show more than action, you have to show a kind of conspiracy behind it.

PHILLIPS: Michael Weisskozpf, "TIME" magazine. I enjoy your articles. We'll definitely be following these hearings. No doubt, this is not going to go away for a while. Michael, thanks for being with us early on this Sunday.

WEISSKOZPF: A pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com