WP: Once a Friend and Ally, Now a Distant Memory (Ties *Co to Lay)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501958.html?nav=rss_politics

He started as "Kenny Boy." Then he was a "supporter," an acquaintance who had not talked to President Bush in "quite some time." Now he is a man convicted of conspiracy and fraud, and a symbol of corporate corruption.

This is former Enron chief Kenneth L. Lay's transformation in the words of President Bush and his spokesmen -- going from a personal and political ally to someone the White House sought to keep as distant as possible as his role in the multibillion-dollar collapse of the energy giant became clear.

This is former Enron chief Kenneth L. Lay's transformation in the words of President Bush and his spokesmen -- going from a personal and political ally to someone the White House sought to keep as distant as possible as his role in the multibillion-dollar collapse of the energy giant became clear.

In the 1980s, when Bush was working in the Texas oil industry, his firm invested in a drilling partnership with Lay's company, a predecessor to Enron. In 1992, Lay was co-chairman of the Republican National Convention in Houston that re-nominated President George H.W. Bus

<snip>

Vice President Cheney invited Lay to take part in his secret energy task force meetings. Cheney also talked to the Indian government about a debt it owed Enron for the rebuilding of a power plant. Numerous administration officials held Enron stock. Lawrence B. Lindsey, Bush's chief economic adviser at the time, had sat on Enron's board, receiving $50,000.

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if we can get it going soon enough, it will be dragged out into the 2008 election cycle and we can use it to drag down a whole string of thugs.

http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/home.html

(edited to fix link)

"'White House press secretary Tony Snow congratulated the Justice Department yesterday on winning the case, adding: "The administration's been pretty clear there's no tolerance for corporate corruption."

Amen!

are diminished this is what you get. This all atarted when Bush was governor of Texas, helping Lay along in his capitalistic pursuits.

iceberg or tentacles of the relationship and I like my title better
theirs sound like it was a casual relationship.


Perhaps they should read this thread in GD to really put it into perspective and not put it 10 pages back in their paper.


Bush's relationship with Enron and the two convicted criminals
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1281329

'he was a DEMOCRAT SUPPORTER' ! ! ! ! ! !

"Ken Lay who? Oh, you must be talking about that old Ann Richards supporter."

of *'s election - with an presidential executive order specifically allowing it:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1289883&mesg_id=1289883
thread title (5-26-06) Enron & Ken Lay started ripping off California w/ in 72 hrs of bush's ....

Another of Greg Palast's heroic muckraking reports.

Bush: "Act boldly, swiftly' on energy

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- President Bush asked his top economic and energy advisers to "act boldly and swiftly" to address America's energy problems, but he indicated he has no magic fix for California's energy problems.

In fact, the Bush administration signaled that it's unlikely to give California any additional leeway on energy shortages, although it might seek to grant relief from regulations that make building new power plants more difficult.

"It looks like they're making progress in California, and we're pleased, because the situation is going to be best remedied in California by Californians," Bush said before the meeting.

"It's becoming very clear to the country that demand is outstripping supply," Bush said, asking his Cabinet to come up with a long-term plan for the nation's energy needs.

<snip>

Cheney insisted that Bush would not order power generators like Reliant Energy and Duke Energy to sell electricity to California once the current federal order expires at midnight on Feb. 6. "It's merely spreading the problem to other parts of the West," he said in an appearance on ABC.

<snip>

"We'll give him two weeks," Lindsey said, referring to California Gov. Gray Davis. "Longer than that, and there's real suffering in the rest of the West."

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