More than a dozen Senate and House Committees are "investigating" the still-unfolding Enron swindle. On February 7th, the House Energy and Commerce Committee finally subpoenaed several current and former Enron bosses to testify, and most declined to answer any questions, citing their Constitutional right to do so. Meanwhile, federal law enforcement has still failed to mount the kind of investigation that is already two months overdue. No arrests have been made; the Enron headquarters in Houston, Texas, is still not secured under police guard; and the FBI has still not commenced an official probe.
One must conclude from this outrageous situation that the Bush Administration and most members of Congress are happily substituting a dust-storm of Congressional hearings for a real criminal investigation. With each passing day the destruction of documents and the confusion created by the media and Congressional circus make it less and less likely that the perpetrators of the Enron swindle will ever be brought to justice.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), one of the federal agencies charged with oversight of corporate conduct, has launched a massive document shredding spree of its own. The documents being destroyed include "sensitive" business documents. Former SEC head Arthur Levitt, who held the top SEC post for 8 years under President Clinton, revealed that no SEC documents were shredded during his tenure. This brazen act by SEC staff is yet another troubling sign that the Bush Administration is proceeding as quickly as possibly to prevent any comprehensive Enron probe. Where are the Democrats? Most are busy trying to figure out whether the polls are telling them to push the Enron story or take a wait-and-see approach. Stay tuned!