USNewsLink

Designing A Deception
Bush and Enron vs. The American People

by Judith Haney

USNEWSLINK/January 14, 2002

If there is one thing that makes me really, REALLY, crazy it is being lied to by someone I trust and depend upon.

I was married to a liar once upon a time. Nothing has ever hurt me more deeply than the deception practiced upon me for years by the man I loved, trusted, depended on, needed, and married. His lies caused lasting harm to me because the memory of the hurt has never subsided. It is as if it happened yesterday or five minutes ago. It is etched in my brain.

Liars have various ways of practicing their lies. Some will invent a story and stick by it no matter what the facts reveal. This kind of liar does not care if he is caught because he will never admit he lied in the first place. This was the type of liar I was married to.

Other liars will practice their deception only when they believe they can get away with it. They do not want to get caught. This is the type of liar George W. Bush, #43, is.   And, this is also the type of liar 'some' Bush administration officials are.

Two top Bush administrations officials, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, went on national television yesterday and lied to the American public about certain facts and circumstances surrounding their communication with President Bush.

On the surface their various versions of events about what they knew about the impending collapse of Enron Corp., and what they told, or did not tell Bush, seemed plausible.

Given the high positions of trust these two men hold, by virtue of their offices they are imbued with the trust of the American people. And this trust is exactly what they counted on as they undertook to tell their 'tale' Sunday about Enron and Bush.

It was only after they appeared, made their case, and were off the air, that common sense kicked in and I began to doubt the veracity of their statements and the accuracy of their versions of events.

Here is what they said on Sunday, January 13, 2002:

"Top U.S. administration officials said on Sunday they felt they were not obligated to inform President Bush or Enron employees and shareholders of the energy firm's requests for help because the information discussed was already known to the public.

"Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said that while he was contacted both at home and in the office by Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay, the conversations revealed nothing unusual or new and he felt there was no reason to alert President Bush.

"I didn't think this was worthy of me running across the street and telling the president," O'Neill said on the "Fox News Sunday" program. "... I frankly think what Ken told me over the phone was not new news. You all had been reporting for weeks that Enron had problems, that they were in trouble.

"O'Neill said he had read reports that Enron President Lawrence Whalley had asked for help from Treasury's undersecretary, Peter Fisher, but told ABC's "This Week" program "nothing was done.

"Commerce Secretary Donald Evans told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Lay's Oct. 29 call to him was about reviews of Enron's business by credit agencies.

"When I was talking to Ken I wasn't thinking about bankruptcy," Evans said. "I was thinking maybe their credit rating would be dropped some."

"The information discussed was publicly known, he added, and "at that point in time, tens of thousands of employees had already lost their life savings because the stock value had already collapsed."

"Evans said he later informed White House chief of staff Andrew Card about the call but Card did not tell Bush.

"Evans, who served as Bush's presidential campaign manager, said he had several discussions with the president about the impact of Enron's downfall but never mentioned Lay's calls." Source: Reuters

I don't buy ANY of it. Their stories don't add up. Because, in truth, these two officials bear a fiduciary duty to their offices to inform the President about anything and everything that adversely affects the nation's economy. And for these two men, who are sworn officials holding the highest appointed offices in our nation's government, to deny they ever discussed the Enron matter and Lay's telephone calls with Bush is not to be believed. Further I am shocked that the Bush administration would attempt such a transparent deception.

The deception practiced upon the American public on Sunday by top officials in the Bush administration was a disgrace, and more, it was unlawful.

However disgraceful and unlawful these deceptive practices were, what is more important in the final analysis is this: Americans can no longer believe Bush and have full faith and confidence in him.  Further, after Sunday, Americans can not place their full faith and confidence in 'certain' members of his cabinet, for they have demonstrated their willingness to lie for him.

Therefore, Americans should demand a full and complete investigation of George W. Bush, #43, and certain members of his cabinet, in regard to their relationship with Enron Corp, and their efforts to cover up what they knew and when they knew it, and what benefit they received from hiding it, and what purpose it served to lie to the American people about it.


Judith Haney is the Editor of USNewsLink.

USNewsLink™ is a registered trademark.   © Copyright 1997-2002. All rights reserved.
Mandatory credit: "
USNewsLink.com" Permission is granted to publish original content in hard copy, broadcast  and electronic media, provided proper attribution  is given for each and every use.

wpe18.jpg (2018 bytes)
American Red Cross

USNewsLink
BUSINESS JOURNAL™

USNewsLink Is For Sale

BUY JUDITH HANEY'S NEW BOOK

Judith Haney's Archives

Anti-Phishing Working Group

HIV/AIDS Prevention

FCC complaint form to report junk faxes & telemarketing