Houston Chronicle: Bush nominee's work for Enron at issue

White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's choice to be his next U.S. attorney general, may want to recuse himself from the Enron prosecutions if he takes over the reins of the Justice Department.

Bush nominee's work for Enron at issue

Proposed attorney general may recuse self in prosecution

By DAVID IVANOVICH, Houston Chronicle
November 20, 2004

WASHINGTON - White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's choice to be his next U.S. attorney general, may want to recuse himself from the Enron prosecutions if he takes over the reins of the Justice Department.

Gonzales did legal work for Enron in the early 1990s, while in private practice at Vinson & Elkins in Houston, which did a lot of legal work for the energy giant.

Gonzales helped Enron set up EOTT Energy Partners, a master limited partnership involved in gathering, transporting and trading crude oil, refined products and natural gas liquids.

His last billing for Enron-related work was in May 1994, noted Henry Reasoner, a partner with the firm. Enron collapsed seven years later.

Gonzales left Vinson & Elkins the following year to become then-Texas Gov. Bush's general counsel. He would later go on to serve as secretary of state and then as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court.

While serving on the bench, Gonzales received a $6,000 campaign contribution from Enron's now defunct political action committee, as well as $500 from an Enron employee, according to campaign records tracked by Austin-based Texans for Public Justice.

As attorney general, Gonzales would have the right to decide whether to distance himself from the Enron case.

White House officials refused to say whether Gonzales likely would recuse himself. An administration spokeswoman said all such questions will have to wait until Gonzales' nomination hearing.

If he does decided to stay out of the Enron matter, Gonzales would be following the lead of current Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Ashcroft, a former Republican senator from Missouri, received $57,499 in contributions from Enron during his unsuccessful effort to retain his seat in 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

One-time Enron Chief Executive Officer Ken Lay contributed $25,000 in soft money to Ashcroft's fund-raising committee, the Ashcroft Victory Fund.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to consider Gonzales' nomination early next year.

Because he had a direct conflict as performing legal work for the company, most observers think it highly likely he will steer clear of the case.

"There is no law that governs this," noted Steven Lubet, a law professor at Northwestern University. "There is no ethical principle that would preclude him from involvement in the Enron prosecutions."

But prudence, Lubet said, would suggest he "leave it to somebody else."

Steven Weiss with the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics said Gonzales and his advisers will have to evaluate the political calculus of the Enron case.

If he does distance himself, Gonzales could face more questions about why he feels the need to distance himself from a disgraced company.

"If he doesn't recuse himself and somehow acts in a way that's perceived to be in Enron's interests, he'll face accusations of doing a favor for a former supporter," Weiss said.

Houston Chronicle: DeLay PAC took Enron funds

As Enron Corp. teetered on the brink of financial collapse in 2001, the company apparently provided $50,000 in seed money for U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's controversial Texas congressional redistricting effort.

DeLay PAC took Enron funds

Records show $50,000 used to set up Texas redistricting panel

By R.G. Ratcliffe, Houston Chronicle
July 14, 2004

AUSTIN - As Enron Corp. teetered on the brink of financial collapse in 2001, the company apparently provided $50,000 in seed money for U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's controversial Texas congressional redistricting effort.

Records for DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority show it received the money from Enron sometime during the second half of 2001. Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001.

ARMPAC, in turn, gave $50,000 to DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority, or TRMPAC. The money was used to set up the committee, which helped win a GOP majority in the Texas House in 2002 and set the stage for DeLay's successful push for congressional redistricting in Texas.

Other contributions were made to ARMPAC during the same time period, but an Enron e-mail indicates that it was the Enron money that was transferred to TRMPAC.

The significance of DeLay raising money from Enron is that it potentially links DeLay directly to raising corporate money for the Texas committee. DeLay was a featured speaker at some TRMPAC meetings that raised corporate money, but he has distanced himself from being directly involved in the contributions.

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is investigating whether TRMPAC violated state campaign laws by using corporate money in direct support of Republican candidates. DeLay has called the investigation politically motivated, and Republicans said the use of corporate money was legal.

Under state law, political committees can use corporate money for administrative expenses such as rent and utilities.

Democrats contend that TRMPAC violated the law by using corporate money to pay for candidate polling and issue development, but Republicans say the law only prohibits corporate contributions directly to a candidate.


DeLay spokesman Jonathan Grella said there was nothing wrong or illegal about raising money from Enron for ARMPAC. He said the money was raised before Enron's finances began unraveling in fall 2001.

"Enron was a well-respected member of the community before these revelations came to light," he said. "Hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to things like Enron."

Grella said it is unfair to criticize DeLay for raising money from Enron when U.S. Rep. Martin Frost, D-Dallas, leader of the state's Democratic congressional delegation, raised $10,000 from Enron for his leadership committee in March 2001.
"Martin Frost and the Democrats had a very aggressive political operation. We needed to combat them if we were going to be competitive," Grella said.

DeLay's link to the Enron donation is established in a company e-mail made public in a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission investigation of the firm's western energy trading practices.

The May 31, 2001, e-mail from lobbyists Rick Shapiro and Linda Robertson to then-Enron Chairman Ken Lay focused primarily on $50,000 that Enron planned to give to a a joint House and Senate fund-raiser.

The e-mail said Enron would be credited with donating $250,000 because of earlier corporate donations.

The e-mail then turned to a new request: "In addition, Congressman Tom DeLay has asked Enron to contribute $100,000 to his leadership committee, ARMPAC, through a combination of corporate and personal money from Enron executives."

"ARMPAC funds will be used to assist other House Members as well as the redistricting effort in Texas. We will be meeting this request over the course of this calendar year."

Federal IRS filings for ARMPAC show it received $50,000 from Enron between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2001, and a transfer of $50,000 to the newly formed TRMPAC during that same period. TRMPAC was created in September 2001.

U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, D-Houston, has filed an ethics complaint against DeLay in the House claiming DeLay improperly raised corporate money to influence redistricting in Texas.

Bell spokesman Eric Burns said the Enron e-mails will be given to House ethics committee members today.

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