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. |
