Rep. Henry Waxman of California, ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, has stepped up his campaign to ferret out what the Bush administration knew about Enron Corp.’s financial problems and when, sending out another round of letters to top White House and administration officials for information and records.

Waxman’s latest letters went to Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White; Lawrence B. Lindsey, assistant to the president for economic policy; and White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. They come on the heels of similar letters that were sent to Transportation Secretary Paul O’Neill, Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Vice President Dick Cheney last week. Waxman asked the trio to supply the requested information by Jan. 22, as part of the committee minority staff’s continuing investigation into the downfall of Enron.

White was singled out because he was a top-level Enron executive for 11 years prior to joining the Bush administration, and a large holder of Enron stock. He was vice chairman of Enron Energy Services, an Enron subsidiary, before being named secretary, according to Waxman.

According to White’s financial disclosure report filed in May 2001, he held Enron common stock valued between $25-$50 million; Enron stock options estimated between $25-$50 million; an Enron phantom stock award valued between $5-$25 million; Enron stock ownership plan in the $1-$5 million range; and an Enron cash balance retirement account valued between $100,000 and $250,000, Waxman said

Specifically, Waxman asked White to provide information on any meetings or phone conversations that he has had: 1) with Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay since joining the administration; 2) about the financial condition of the energy trading company; or 3) with President Bush, O’Neill, Evans, or other Cabinet members or White House staffers about Enron and its financial straits. In addition, Waxman asked whether White has sold any Enron stock, exercised any option in Enron stock, or received money from Enron since becoming secretary.

“I want to make clear that this information is not being sought because it is alleged that you have done anything inappropriate,” Waxman told White, adding that this simply was a fact-finding effort.

He pressed Lindsey, who at one time had been a consultant for Enron and a member of the company’s advisory board, for many of the same details. He received a salary from Enron in 2000 for $50,000, and in fact was listed as a creditor on Enron’s bankruptcy filing. But Lindsey claims the information on the bankruptcy filing is incorrect.

“I would like to know whether your participation in discussions about Enron may have created a conflict of interest or an appearance of a conflict of interest,” Waxman said in his letter to Lindsey. Secretary Evans recently said he often met with a group of administration officials — O’Neill, Lindsey and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten — and “we would collectively talk about Enron from time to time.”

The White House’s Card was targeted by Waxman because Secretary Evans mentioned that while visiting the White House, he “stepped into Andy Card’s office and told him I’d received this call” from Enron on Oct. 29 about the company’s financial troubles. The lawmaker called on Card to supply details of any “communications” he and Bolten have had with Evans, Bush, Cheney or any Enron executive about the poor financial shape of the company.

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