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CNN Sunday Morning

White House Says it Offered Enron No Assistance

Aired January 13, 2002 - 10:02   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: The Enron investigation is dominating today's Sunday's news talk shows, along with the war in Afghanistan. The big question, though, what is likely economic -- what is the likely economic and political fallout from the Enron bankruptcy. Well CNN's John King has more now from the White House. A lot of people are asking that question John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people asking Kyra, and the political side of these investigations will go hand in hand with the exploration, not only by the Justice Department and other government agencies, but by the Congress as well, is into just how Enron filed for bankruptcy and did it mislead its shareholders and its employees. That is the business side of it, if you will.

On the political side, members of Congress want to know about contacts between senior Enron officials and senior Bush administration officials. There are political connections, the company is a prolific donor for political campaigns, not only the Republicans, the Democrats as well. Also some personal relationships between the president and the CEO of Enron, and as well as other senior Bush administration officials who have long-standing relationships with the company and its senior officials.

Two Cabinet secretaries, Don Evans at Commerce, Paul O'Neill at Treasury, out making the round of the talk shows again today. They did receive a phone call from the Enron CEO, Ken Lay, late last year before the company filed for bankruptcy, in which at least in the Evans conversation, Secretary Evans says Ken Lay asked for help. Now two ways to get into trouble in a controversy like this -- one is to do something hard and the Bush administration officials insist when Enron asked for help, the answer was no, and they say any investigation will show that, that they did not help them at all.

But another way you can get in trouble and at least extend the political controversy is if the answers don't match up. Here at the White House on Thursday, the White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was asked if Secretary Evans or Secretary O'Neill passed on word to anyone here at the White House -- the president or any other senior officials that Ken Lay had called them and asked for help. Ari Fleischer said not that he was aware of, that it was not passed on to the best of his knowledge. Today discussing this on "Meet The Press", Secretary Evans said he did indeed pass word on to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON EVANS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: I was in the White House, a lot more started to happen with respect to Enron. They announced the Dynegy merger. Shortly after that, there was some question whether or not the Dynegy merger would make or not. And so with all the ongoing and continuing activity at Enron and Dynegy, I thought the White House ought to know. I was over there one day, and I stepped into Andy Card's office and told him I received his call, he simply listened to me and said thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Evans said that Andy Card told him he did not pass that information onto President Bush. Again, though, members of Congress, especially the Democrats want more details of any and all contacts between the administration and Enron. Any regulatory decisions or other decisions made by the administration that might have benefited Enron and so you have not a conflicting answer, but certainly new information today from Secretary Evans that he did pass some information onto the White House.

You can be sure that will be another request as Democrats in Congress as the investigations of the political side of all of this go hand in hand with the criminal investigations and other regulatory investigations into just what happened at Enron -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John King, live at the White House. Thanks so much.

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