The Enron Defense

Published: June 18, 2010

By Jim Lichtman
Image
Read More

Watching BP CEO Tony Hayward respond to questions by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations reminded me of Enron Chief Jeff Skilling’s testimony in February, 2002.

Skilling: Congressman, Enron Corporation was an enormous corporation. Could I have known everything going on everywhere in the company?

Hayward: We drill hundreds of wells a year around the world.

Skilling: I don’t recall that…

Hayward: I don’t recall the time that was saved.

Skilling: What I do not know, I do not know either because it was kept from me, or it never happened at all…

Hayward: I wasn’t part of the decision-making process… I wasn’t involved in any of the decision making… I simply was not involved in the decision-making process… That was a decision I was not party to…. I wasn’t involved in the decision-making on [that] day… I wasn’t involved or aware of any of the decisions… I wasn’t involved; I’m sorry.

In fairness, unlike Enron both Hayward and BP Chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, have committed $20 Billion to a compensation fund for businesses affected by the Gulf spill.  However, what was particularly in evidence was the over-the-top rhetoric demonstrated by several of members of the committee. For awhile it seemed like each member was trying to out-lecture the other to see whose sound-bite would make the Nightly News.

And the winner was… Texas Representative Joe Barton who not only apologized to Hayward for the harsh questioning, but said that the special fund agreed to by the White House “amounts to a $20 Billion shakedown.”  At the lunch break, Barton received so much flak from Democrats and Republicans alike that he issued a statement apologizing for his apology.

Clearly, BP’s actions before, during and after the accident deserve serious investigation and, if necessary, criminal prosecution, but not today.

If I had been on the committee I would have kept my questions focused on these: an overview of what is happening now and when BP estimates the well will be capped; and most importantly, how are you addressing concerns raised by Louisiana coast officials, most notably, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser whose regular reports to CNN’s Anderson Cooper clearly appear to tell a different story of BP’s efforts regarding the clean-up.

At this point, little is to be gained by excoriating Hayward in front of, what seems to be, every available camera on the east coast.

I am not advocating letting BP off the hook.  I just believe that at this moment, Congressional representatives should focus more on the needs at hand, rather than engage in what comes across as a political mob attack on a single individual.

Comments

Leave a Comment



Read More Articles
The Latest... And Sometimes Greatest
Good Night, and Good Luck… to Us All
Good Night, and Good Luck, starring George Clooney on Broadway is a wake-up call about the ethical courage we desperately need today—a timely parable based...
April 14, 2025
The Immaculate Contradiction
A timely Opinion piece in The New York Times by David French sheds greater light on why so many Evangelical Christians fervently believe in Donald...
April 11, 2025
What’s in a Word? Everything.
Whether President Donald Trump is smart is debatable, but when it comes to tapping into fear and division he’s a genius. Trump recently issued an...
April 10, 2025
While America Burns
While Americans struggle to make ends meet, while school boards face threats for doing their jobs, while democracy itself stands on a knife’s edge, Donald...
April 7, 2025
Metaphor
“That was a shocker,” said Douglas Kent. “What I saw… was that if you were deep-rooted, you survived. Native or not, it didn’t make a...
April 4, 2025
Senator Booker’s Call to Conscience
In 1950, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine stood alone on the Senate floor and delivered what would become one of the most courageous speeches...
March 31, 2025