By Janet Hook
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — Faced with growing legal and political challenges, Vice President Dick Cheney stepped forward Sunday to defend the administration’s handling of the collapse of Enron Corp. — and his own refusal to release details of his meetings with Enron and other industry officials in formulating the Bush administration’s energy policy.
Cheney’s defiance puts the administration on course for an unprecedented legal clash with Congress’ investigative arm, the nonpartisan General Accounting Office. The head of the GAO said last week that he would sue the administration unless, by the end of this week, the agency is on track to find out whom Cheney consulted before drafting the energy policy last spring.
"In the absence of that, the courts will have to decide," Comptroller General David Walker said Sunday.
Cheney dug in for the legal battle even as some fellow Republicans have argued that he should release the information to counter the potentially damaging impression that the administration has something to hide.
But releasing the information would set a precedent that would make it impossible for him to receive "unvarnished advice" without fear of disclosure by Congress, Cheney said.
"What’s really at stake here is the ability of the president and the vice president to solicit advice from anybody they want in confidence," Cheney said on "Fox News Sunday."
Those comments came during one of two wide-ranging television interviews Cheney granted Sunday — part of a recent spate of appearances that contrast with his relatively low profile following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He has spent considerable time in a "secure location," and Cheney said Sunday that security considerations still dictate some of his movements.
Several congressional committees, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether any laws were broken as Houston-based Enron disintegrated and fell into bankruptcy last year.
Some Republicans in Congress — including Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, R-La., chairman of a House committee that is investigating Enron — want the administration to cut its political losses and release information.
Cheney said the demand for more information was a partisan "fishing expedition" by Democrats who opposed, but failed to block, passage of the administration’s energy bill in the House.
He argued that the administration’s handling of Enron’s troubles was completely proper. Although there were provisions of the energy plan Enron supported, Cheney said, nothing was done specifically at the company’s behest.
"Now, the fact is, Enron didn’t get any special deals," Cheney said. "Enron’s been treated appropriately by this administration. … There is no evidence to indicate anybody did anything wrong in the administration."
The best way to respond to the Enron collapse is not political finger-pointing, he said, but focusing on what needs to be done to reform laws and regulations on pensions.
Many Enron employees experienced catastrophic losses in their 401(k) retirement accounts, which were largely invested in company stock. The stock plummeted last fall after Enron disclosed the existence of several complex, off-balance-sheet partnerships and restated earnings to account for more than $600 million in previously unreported losses, and the company filed for bankruptcy Dec. 2.
Cheney shied away from endorsing proposals to limit the amount of company stock in retirement savings plans, saying Congress should not undercut the trend toward encouraging employees from owning stock.
"We have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water," he said.
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