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"I did not drill oil with that man, Mr. Lay"
by Mike Hersh
Mar. 6, 2002 (Political Sanity/APJP) -- In today's Chicago Tribune, Geoff Dougherty reports:
President Bush had business ties with Enron and its predecessor companies, and first met Kenneth Lay, its chairman, sometime in the late 1980s, according to public records and interviews.
This directly contradicts the public statements Bush has made, distancing himself from Lay and the troubled oil and energy conglomerate.
Dougherty continues:
Previously, the president had not mentioned his business dealings with Enron and had said that he got to know Lay after he was elected governor of Texas in 1994.
However, this isn't true, as the embarrassed White House was forced to admit:
On Tuesday, White House communications director Dan Bartlett told the Tribune that Bush's relationship with Lay probably started when Bush was in Washington in 1987 and 1988, working on his father's presidential campaign. It could have started earlier, he said.
Dougherty quotes Bartlett as saying: "The president also does not recall specifics of his dealings with Enron, and was unaware his oil company had joint ventures with Enron."
Can we say, "My oil company did not drill with that man, Mr. Lay?"
These revelations that Bush lied about Lay and Enron touched off questions about other ethical lapses. Dougherty states that Bush's "[e]thics filing leaves gaps. It is not clear whether Bush and Enron operated the wells together because the president's ethics filings do not say when Bush bought his stake, nor if he sold it."
The Trib learned that Bush wrote to Lay in 1997:
"Dear Ken, one of the sad things about old friends is that they seem to be getting older -- just like you! 55 years old. Wow. That is really old. Thank goodness you have such a young, beautiful wife. Laura and I value our friendship with you. Best wishes to Linda, your family, and friends. Your younger friend, George W. Bush."
This not only exposes ethical lapses -- it contradicts Bush's promise to restore honor and dignity to the White House.
And these lies about his ties to Lay and Enron are just the tip of the oil well. Does the phrase: "It's not just what he did, it's that he lied about it" come to mind?
Source: "Bush had dealings with Lay, Enron ventures in the 1980s", Geoff Dougherty, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0203060180mar06.story?coll=chi%2Dnewsnationworld%2Dhed
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