A paltry one-count indictment was handed down yesterday by federal prosecutors against the Arthur Andersen auditing firm. The Andersen firm was charged with one count of felony "obstruction of justice."; Andersen staff participated in both document shredding and computer hard drive "sanitizing"; in the wake of the gigantic Enron swindle. The indictment is the first, and so far only indictment in the Enron case.
Federal prosecutors had little to say about why the Andersen firm was targeted before Enron. With nearly six months having passed since the earliest revelations about lawbreaking at Enron, the Andersen indictment is clearly a case of far too little, far too late. But despite the foot-dragging on the part of law enforcement, no fewer than 13 Congressional Committees are busy proposing "solutions"; and "legislation"; to remedy lawbreaking that has yet to be properly or thoroughly investigated.
In a related development, the Republican Congressional leadership has joined the Bush Administration in the renewed push to liquidate the Social Security safety net. Sensing that the Enron story is becoming "old news";, and that most Democrats are unable to grasp or capitalize on the significance of the Enron scandal, the Republican leadership has switched back to an offensive strategy on the Social Security front. Stay tuned!