LIEBERMAN
RESPONDS TO INFORMATION PROVIDED BY WHITE HOUSE
May 23, 2002
WASHINGTON -
Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.,
issued the following statement Thursday in response to
information the White House provided the Committee late
Wednesday:
“The
information provided by the White House yesterday did not
respond to the subpoenas the Committee issued. The Committee
subpoenas require the White House to provide documents related
to its contacts with Enron and other agencies about Enron by
June 3, and we look forward to reviewing that material --
including documents related to the contacts and communications
outlined in the White House Counsel's letter which we received
yesterday.
“My staff
is reviewing the letter as part of the Committee’s broader look
at the government's interactions with Enron. Therefore, I don't
want to prematurely comment on the substance. But staff has
observed that the White House's response is inadequate even for
what it is -- a partial response to the Committee's March 27
request. To begin with, the White House itself seems to
acknowledge that it wasn't giving us all non-privileged
responsive information it already collected. In the White House
Counsel's words, they’ve given us only what they've ‘collected
thus far that is ready for disclosure.’ Just as importantly, in
many cases they've left out details the Committee asked for --
such as who attended meetings or took part in communications and
when all of the communications occurred. And, they don't tell
us what we've repeatedly asked for: whether they will compile a
comprehensive list of contacts the President, the Vice
President, and former employees had with Enron and turn that
information over to the Committee, unless it is privileged. In
short, it seems like the White House is still saying it will
disclose what it wants to disclose, not what we've asked for.
That’s why the Committee had to resort to issuing subpoenas
yesterday.
“I would
note that even the inadequate information provided yesterday
shows a larger number of contacts between the EOP and Enron than
previously known. I don’t know whether learning more about
those contacts will ultimately tell us that the government could
or should have done something different with respect to Enron;
as I emphasized yesterday, we are committed to being
investigatory, not accusatory. But I do know that our
Committee’s investigation would not be complete if we didn’t ask
these reasonable questions about White House interactions with
Enron, and if the White House doesn’t answer them. The public,
which has been so hurt by the Enron scandal, has a right to the
answers to these questions.
“We look
forward to seeing the White House's response by June 3.” |