WHAT IS Vice President Dick Cheney hiding? He has refused to give the General Accounting Office - the investigative arm of Congress - records from the meetings that the Bush administration had with energy executives in forming the administration's energy policy. The White House must stop its stonewalling so the public can know the truth.
Congress has been trying for months to get the White House to hand over documents about the Cheney-led task-force which formulated Bush's national energy policy last May. GAO comptroller David M. Walker was going to bring the issue to court in September, but did not because of the September 11 attacks. Now with the collapse of Enron, which has cost thousands of employees their pensions, not to mention hurt countless investors, the legal battle between Cheney and Walker is even more important.
The majority of Americans do not think that the Bush administration is telling all they know about Enron, and Cheney only is hurting the situation. According to a CBS-New York Times poll, 67 percent of Americans believe that the administration is hiding something or lying about its relationship with Enron. Cheney's response is to talk about how, as a constitutional officer, he does not have to grant the request of the GAO that he release the documents. Cheney claims that releasing the documents would weaken the presidency. He told The Washington Post, "I have repeatedly seen an erosion of powers and the ability of the president of the United States to do his job" ("Energy Records Demand Rejected," Jan. 28).
This sounds like former President Richard Nixon, who comes to mind when thinking about administrations who tried to hide behind the executive power of the Constitution. Democratic leaders in Congress smell blood, and Cheney exacerbates the dispute with his claims that he must protect the power of the presidency. For months Bush seemed invincible because of the war on terror, but the Enron case may force people to turn their attention back to domestic issues. Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) called Cheney's decision not to release the records "unfortunate." On the CBS show "Face the Nation," Daschle said that the GAO was correct in seeking the records and that Americans deserve to know the truth.
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The questions about the Bush administration and their connections with Enron are disturbing. During the 2000 campaign, Enron gave $1.76 million to the Republican party. According to Time Magazine, the energy policy drafted by Cheney had parts that "seem to have sprung directly from Enron's wish list" ("Enron Spoils Party," Time Magazine, Jan. 27). In addition, key posts in the Bush administration are held by former Enron executives and consultants, such as Army Secretary Thomas White and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. Even the top energy-price regulator of the country, Pat Wood, was endorsed by Enron before he was hired.
One of the most interesting things about the Enron collapse is that the Bush administration did nothing to save the company. Considering that the administration was on such a good basis with Enron, and recently made former Enron lobbyist and Montana Gov. Marc Racicot head of the Republican National Committee, it is surprising that they did nothing at all to help. This has raised questions about the administration's inaction as Enron collapsed. These questions will not go away until the administration comes clean about this.
The White House's refusal to cooperate with Congress only will make it harder for Bush to get his domestic policies passed. While the Democrats are hesitant to criticize Bush on foreign policy, they see domestic policy as their best shot at taking control of both houses of Congress in the November election. If Bush wants to fare better than his father, he should take away the Democrats' window of opportunity by putting the Enron mess behind him. He can do so by insisting that his administration be honest with the American public.
Americans can't forget about the Enron scandal. Some will say it is not patriotic to question the president and his administration during a time of national crisis. They are wrong. Accountability and integrity are things which Americans must expect and demand from their political leaders, even more so in times of war.
(Harris Freier's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at hfreier@cavalierdaily.com.)
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