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From: Subject: The Free Press -- Independent News Media - National Issues Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:05:50 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_00D3_01C9A96D.5B24AF30" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3350 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_00D3_01C9A96D.5B24AF30 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.freepress.org/departments.php/display/20/2003/321 The Free Press -- Independent News Media - National = Issues <= /TD>

Fri Mar 20=20 2009

Departments
National=20 Issues

Ahnuld, Ken Lay, George Bush, Dick = Cheney and=20 Gray Davis
by Jason Leopold
August 15,=20 2003

Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't talking. The = Hollywood=20 action film star and California's GOP gubernatorial = candidate in the=20 state's recall election has been unusually silent about his = plans=20 for running the Golden State. He hasn't yet offered up a = solution=20 for the state's $38 billion budget deficit, an issue that = largely=20 got more than one million people to sign a petition to = recall Gov.=20 Gray Davis.

More impv ortant, however, = Schwarzenegger=20 still won't respond to questions about why he was at the = Peninsula=20 Hotel in Beverly Hills two years ago where he, former Los = Angeles=20 Mayor Richard Riordan and junk bond king Michael Milken, met = secretly with former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay who was = touting a=20 plan for solving the state's energy crisis. Other luminaries = who=20 were invited but didn't attend the May 24, 2001 meeting = included=20 former Los Angeles Laker Earvin "Magic" Johnson and = supermarket=20 magnate Ron Burkle.

While Schwarzenegger, = Riordan and=20 Milken listened to Lay's pitch, Gov. Davis pleaded with = President=20 George Bush to enact much needed price controls on = electricity sold=20 in the state, which skyrocketed to more than $200 per = megawatt-hour.=20 Davis said that Texas-based energy companies were = manipulating=20 California's power market, charging obscene prices for power = and=20 holding consumers hostage. Bush agreed to meet with Davis at = the=20 Century Plaza Hotel in West Los Angeles on May 29, 2001, = five days=20 after Lay met with Schwarzenegger, to discuss the California = power=20 crisis.

At the meeting, Davis asked Bush for = federal=20 assistance, such as imposing federally mandated price caps, = to rein=20 in soaring energy prices. But Bush refused saying California = legislators designed an electricity market that left too = many=20 regulatory restrictions in place and that's what caused = electricity=20 prices in the state to skyrocket. It was up to the governor = to fix=20 the problem, Bush said. However, Bush's response appears to = be part=20 of a coordinated effort launched by Lay to have Davis = shoulder the=20 blame for the crisis. It worked. According to recent polls, = a=20 majority of voters grew increasingly frustrated with the way = Davis=20 handled the power crisis. Schwarzenegger has used the energy = crisis=20 and missteps by Davis to bolster his standing with potential = voters.=20 While Davis took a beating in the press (some energy = companies ran=20 attack ads against the governor), Lay used his political = clout to=20 gather support for deregulation.

A couple of = weeks=20 before Lay met with Schwarzenegger in May 2001, the PBS news = program=20 "Frontline" interviewed Vice President Dick Cheney, whom Lay = met=20 with privately a month earlier. Cheney was asked by a = correspondent=20 from Frontline whether energy companies were acting like a = cartel=20 and using manipulative tactics to cause electricity prices = to spike=20 in California.

"No," Cheney said during the = Frontline=20 interview. "The problem you had in California was caused by = a=20 combination of things--an unwise regulatory scheme, because = they=20 didn't really deregulate. Now they're trapped from unwise = regulatory=20 schemes, plus not having addressed the supply side of the = issue.=20 They've obviously created major problems for themselves and=20 bankrupted PG&E in the process."

A month = before=20 the Frontline interview and Bush's meeting with Davis, = Cheney, who=20 chairs Bush's energy task force, met with Lay to discuss = Bush's=20 National Energy Policy. Lay, whose company was the largest=20 contributor to Bush's presidential campaign, made some=20 recommendations that would financially benefit his company. = Lay gave=20 Cheney a memo that included eight recommendations for the = energy=20 policy. Of the eight, seven were included in the final = draft. The=20 energy policy was released in late May 2001, after = Schwarzenegger,=20 Riordan and Milken met with Lay and after the meeting = between Bush=20 and Davis and Cheney's Frontline interview. =

The policy=20 made only scant references to California's energy crisis, = which=20 Enron was accused of igniting, and did not indicate what = should be=20 done to provide the state some relief. Cheney said the = policy=20 focused on long-term solutions to the country's energy = needs, such=20 as opening up drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife = Refuge and=20 freeing up transmission lines. That's why California was = ignored in=20 the report, Cheney said.

What's unknown to = many of the=20 voters who will decide Davis's fate on Oct. 7, the day of = the recall=20 election, is that while Cheney dismissed Davis's accusations = that=20 power companies were withholding electricity supplies from = the=20 state, one company engaged in exactly the type of behavior = that=20 Davis described. But Davis would never be told about the=20 manipulative tactics the energy company engaged. =

In a=20 confidential settlement with the Federal Energy Regulatory=20 Commission, whose chairman was appointed by Bush a year = earlier,=20 Tulsa, Okla., based-Williams Companies agreed to refund = California=20 $8 million in profits it reaped by deliberately shutting = down one of=20 its power plants in the state in the spring of 2000 to drive = up the=20 wholesale price of electricity in California. =

The=20 evidence, a transcript of a tape-recorded telephone = conversation=20 between an employee at Williams and an employee at a = Southern=20 California power plant operated by Williams, shows how the = two=20 conspired to jack up power prices and create an artificial=20 electricity shortage by keeping the power plant out of = service for=20 two weeks.

Details of the settlement had been = under=20 seal by FERC for more than a year and were released in = November=20 after the Wall Street Journal sued the commission to obtain = the full=20 copy of its report. Similarly, FERC also found that Reliant = Energy=20 engaged in identical behavior around the same time as = Williams=20 and in February the commission ordered Reliant to pay = California a=20 $13.8 million settlement.

Had the evidence = been=20 released in 2001 when Davis accused energy companies of = fraud it=20 would have helped California's case and voters may have = viewed the=20 governor more positively. But if FERC were to publicly = release the=20 details of the Williams settlement it wouldn't have jibed = with=20 Bush's energy policy, which was made public instead in May = 2001.=20 It's highly unlikely that Bush, Cheney and members of the = energy=20 task force were kept in the dark about the Williams scam, = especially=20 since the findings of the investigation by FERC took place = around=20 the same time the policy was being drafted. =

But Davis=20 was still causing problems for Lay. California's power woes = had a=20 ripple effect, forcing other states to cancel plans to open = up their=20 electricity markets to competition fearing deregulation = would lead=20 to widespread blackouts and price gouging. For Enron, a = company that=20 generated most of its revenue from buying and selling power = and=20 natural gas on the open market, such a move would paralyze = the=20 company.

Fearing that Davis would take steps = to=20 re-regulate California's power market that Lay spent years = lobbying=20 California lawmakers to open up to competition, Lay = recruited=20 Schwarzenegger, Riordan, Milken, and other powerful business = leaders=20 like Bruce Karatz, chief executive of home builder Kaufman = &=20 Broad; Ray Irani, chief executive of Occidental Petroleum; = and Kevin=20 Sharer, chief executive of biotech giant Amgen. =

The=20 90-minute secret meeting Lay convened took place inside a = conference=20 room at the Peninsula Hotel. Lay, and other Enron = representatives at=20 the meeting, handed out a four-page document to = Schwarzenegger,=20 Riordan and Milken titled "Comprehensive Solution for = California,"=20 which called for an end to federal and state investigations = into=20 Enron's role in the California energy crisis and said = consumers=20 should pay for the state's disastrous experiment with = deregulation=20 through multibillion rate increases. Another bullet point in = the=20 four-page document said "Get deregulation right this time -- = California needs a real electricity market, not government=20 takeovers."

The irony of that statement is = that=20 California's flawed power market design helped Enron earn = more than=20 $500 million in one year, a tenfold increase in profits from = a=20 previous year and it's coordinated effort in manipulating = the price=20 of electricity in California, which other power companies = mimicked,=20 cost the state close to $70 billion and led to the beginning = of what=20 is now the state's $38 billion budget deficit. The power = crisis=20 forced dozens of businesses to close down or move to other = states,=20 where cheaper electricity was in abundant supply, and = greatly=20 reduced the revenue California relied heavily upon. =20

Lay asked the participants to support his plan = and=20 lobby the state Legislature to make it a law. It's unclear = whether=20 Schwarzenegger held a stake in Enron at the time or if he = followed=20 through on Lay's request. His spokesman, Rob Stutzman, = hasn't=20 returned numerous calls for comment about the meeting. For=20 Schwarzenegger and the others who attended the meeting, = associating=20 with Enron, particularly Ken Lay, the disgraced chairman of = the=20 high-flying energy company, during the peak of California's = power=20 crisis in May 2001 could be compared to meeting with Osama = bin Laden=20 after 9-11 to understand why terrorism isn't necessarily = such a=20 heinous act.

A person who attended the meeting = at the=20 Peninsula, which this reporter wrote about two years ago, = said Lay=20 invited Schwarzenegger and Riordan because the two were = being=20 courted in 2001 as GOP gubernatorial candidates. A week = before the=20 meeting, Davis signed legislation to create a state power = authority=20 that would buy, operate and build power plants in lieu of=20 out-of-state energy companies, such as Enron, that the = governor=20 alleged was ripping off the state.

For Enron's = Lay,=20 the timing of the meeting was crucial. His company was just = five=20 months away from disintegrating and he was doing everything = in his=20 power to keep his company afloat and the profits rolling in. =

It wasn't until Enron collapsed in October = 2001 and=20 evidence of the company's manipulative trading tactics = emerged that=20 FERC began to take a look at the company's role in = California's=20 electricity crisis. Since then, memos written by former = Enron=20 traders were uncovered, with colorful names like "Fat Boy" = and=20 "Death Star," that contained the blueprint for ripping off=20 California.

Enron's top trader on the West = Coast,=20 Timothy Belden, the mastermind behind the scheme, pleaded = guilty in=20 December to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and has agreed = to=20 cooperate with federal investigators who are still trying to = get to=20 the bottom of the crisis.

California is still=20 demanding that FERC order the energy companies to refund the = state=20 $8.9 billion for overcharging the state for electricity = during its=20 yearlong energy crisis. But FERC says California is due no = more than=20 $1.2 billion in refunds because the state still owes the = energy=20 companies $1.8 billion in unpaid power bills.

= Davis,=20 who refused to cave in to the demands of companies like = Enron even=20 while Democrats, Republicans and the public criticized him, = was=20 right all along. Maybe Californians ought to cut Davis some=20 slack.

Jason Leopold spent two years covering = California's=20 energy crisis as bureau chief of Dow Jones Newswires. He is=20 currently working on a book about the=20 crisis.

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"It= 's=20 time to overrule the Supreme Court "
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"Is= =20 Bush a "Dry Drunk"? This is a Serious, Not Just a Provocative = Question=20 "
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"To= =20 Hell and Back "
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"Co= ulter's=20 Right-Wing Drag "
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"Se= nator=20 Byrd, major media spread coverage of Bush-Nazi=20 nexus"
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"Ge= orge=20 W. and Alcoholism "
October 20, 2003

"Em= ails=20 Show Enron May Have Influenced FERC Probe On Calif Power Crisis,=20 Refunds"
October 13, 2003

"So= =20 Rush just wanted a =93Rush=94; Media accept Limbaugh spin on = illegal drug buys=20 and use without questions"
October 12, 2003

"Ge= orge=20 Bush, the Democrats, and Revisionist = History"
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"Sc= hwarzenegger's=20 First Role As Governor-Elect of California: The=20 Deregulator"
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"St= ay=20 in Bed "
October 8, 2003

"As= =20 Bush Implodes, 30 Ways Desperate Right Wingers Will Respond=20 "
October 8, 2003

"Co= ngressman=20 John Conyers asks Karl Rove to resign"
October = 8,=20 2003

"Si= ege=20 Heil: the Nazi Nexus*"
October 6, 2003

"Lo= yal=20 Opposition, Disloyal Regent "
October 1, = 2003

"Ti= me=20 to act"
September 30, 2003

"Na= tional=20 Missile Defense: Bad Science and Wasted=20 Taxes"
September 22, 2003

"Re= publicans=20 Seem to Want to Keep Computerized Voting Easily Corruptible=20 "
September 10, 2003

"Ho= w=20 We Lost The Vote - How To Get It Back Again=20 "
September 10, 2003

"We= =20 Can Win the War in Vietnam and other chestnuts from a = not-so-bygone=20 era"
September 5, 2003

"Lo= otocracy"
September=20 2, 2003

"Th= e=20 Business of E-Voting and How it Can Put the Wrong Candidate in=20 Officee"
September 1, 2003

"Af= ter=20 the Governor Sells Out On Requiring Electric and Hydrogen Cars in = CA The=20 Air Resources Board Reclassifies Gasoline Cars as=20 "Clean""
August 29, 2003

"Th= e=20 Ill-Begotten: Reflections of Unconstitutional Precedence=20 "
August 24, 2003

"St= orm=20 and Strife "
August 24, 2003

"A = New=20 Psychiatric Diagnostic Category; Politician Syndrome; DSM-IV = 333.333=20 "
August 23, 2003

"Fo= unding=20 Father of Neocon Philosophy Leo Strauss and Jefferson's = Impending=20 Death"
August 21, 2003

"Fa= ith-based=20 drug wars: Bush recruits religious youth groups as ground=20 troops"
August 21, 2003

"Vo= ting=20 Machine Fiasco"
August 20, 2003

"Bl= ackouts=20 Happen-California Power Crisis Should Have Been A Warning Sign To = U.S.=20 "
August 20, 2003

"Wh= o=20 is Michigan's Empire Man? Big Ten University President Does Bush's = Bidding"
August 18, 2003

"Po= wer=20 Failure; Bush Disaster"
August 15, 2003

"Ah= nuld,=20 Ken Lay, George Bush, Dick Cheney and Gray=20 Davis"
August 15, 2003

"Ou= r=20 President is a Criminal"
July 28, 2003

"Yo= =20 Democrats! Wake Up!"
June 2, 2003

Related = Journal=20 articles:=20

"Lighten=20 up liberals! Michael Moore advises"
December 2, = 2003

"A=20 message from Leonard Peltier"
December 2, = 2003

"'Democracy=20 brief' calls on courts to eliminate corporate 'personhood' and = bill of=20 rights protection"
December 2, 2003

"Kids=20 should get Big Bird, not Big Mac"
December 2, = 2003

"The=20 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride"
September 21, = 2003

"A=20 question almost unthinkable"
September 20,=20 2003

Read Articles by Year:
2005=20 2004=20 2003=20
2002=20 2001=20 2000

All content =A9 1970-2009
The Columbus Free=20 Press
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