|
Ex-Enron CEO may talk
|
 |
February 8, 2002: 3:31 p.m. ET
Lay may testify next week, senator says; spokeswoman says matter not settled.
|
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Kenneth Lay may testify next week at Congressional hearings probing the collapse of Enron Corp., a key lawmaker said Friday, but a spokeswoman for the former CEO of the once powerful energy trading company said the matter of his testimony hasn't been settled.
Congressional investigators told Lay's lawyers that they were preparing for next week as though Lay were going to testify and the lawyers had no objection, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) told a news conference Friday.
"His attorneys have told us we should prepare for a hearing in which he would testify," said Dorgan, head of a Senate Commerce subcommittee that is one of several congressional panels holding hearings into the failure of Enron.
|
|
|
Sen. Byron Dorgan discussing Lay's appearance before a Senate panel next week. | |
Lay backed out of a voluntary appearance before the Senate Commerce Committee last Monday after his lawyer complained about "prosecutorial" comments by lawmakers on last weekend's television talk shows.
Lawmakers want to ask Lay about business deals that critics charge hid huge debts and inflated profits at Enron, which filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in December.
Now, Lay is to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday and the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday after the panels subpoenaed him.
Lawmakers had expected Lay to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at next week's hearings.
Lay spokeswoman Kelly Kimberly told CNN/Money Friday that Lay's attorneys have not indicated he would testify. "Mr. Lay is continuing to weigh the pros and cons of testifying," she said.
Dorgan, in an interview with CNNfn later, said Lay's lawyers have not notified investigators that Lay would take the Fifth. "We don't really know if he will testify," he added.
Lay's predecessor as Enron CEO, Jeff Skilling, testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday, saying he was unaware of any accounting practices designed to hide debt or make the company look more solvent than it really was.
"When I left on Aug. 14 [2001], I thought the financial reports accurately represented the financial [state] of the company," Skilling said. (For more on Skilling's testimony, click here).
Once the nation's seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 2 after disclosures about its hidden debts and inflated profits caused investors and customers to lose confidence in the Houston-based company. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
