SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Ari & I: May 31, 2001
Russell Mokhiber questions White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
May 31, 2001
Mokhiber: Ari, Kenneth Lay is a close friend of the President's, and he is also the head of Enron Corporation in Houston. The New York Times reported last week that Mr. Lay made a call to Curtis Hebert, who is the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and that he offered him a deal, according to the Times:
If Mr. Hebert changed his views on electricity deregulation, Enron would continue to support him in his new job. The Times reported that Mr. Hebert refused the offer, was offended, and thought that -- he knew of Mr. Lay's affiliation with the President -- and thought the refusal could put his job in jeopardy.
Two questions. One, is this dignified to have the President's friends mau-mauing regulators who regulate their companies?
And second, is Mr. Hebert's job in jeopardy?
Ari Fleischer: The President makes all of his decisions on personnel based on the merits of the people that he would seek to name.
In terms of -- I think your word was mau-mau, mau-mauing regulators -- for example, Governor Wilson has had some interesting things to say about members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In fact one of them will be meeting with Governor Wilson at the Governor's request. So, it is not unusual at all for people on Commissions to meet with -- I'm sorry, Governor Davis -- to meet with people who have expressed concerns about matters. But the President makes his decisions on personnel about people based on the merits of the people.
Mokhiber: Is his job in danger? Is his job in danger?
Fleischer: No.
. . .
Mokhiber: Ari, to follow up on the tax deal in the Senate --
Ari Fleischer: Yes, Russell.
Mokhiber: Princeton economist Paul Krugman put it this way -- he said "they simply waived their hands and made all of the revenue that will actually be lost in the last year of the ten-year tax period -- hundreds of billions of dollars -- disappear from the accounting."
He called it "white-collar crime, pure and simple." And he said Democratic Senators and Republican Senators alike who were involved with it should be sentenced to "a minimum security installation somewhere unpleasant."
I'm wondering --
Ari Fleischer: Would they be provided with lifelong subscriptions to Mr. Krugman's columns while they were there?
Mokhiber: Or the Corporate Crime Reporter?
Ari Fleischer: You did say something -- I'll leave it there.
Mokhiber: I had a question actually. . .
(Ari moves on.)
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
Mokhiber: Ari, Kenneth Lay is a close friend of the President's, and he is also the head of Enron Corporation in Houston. The New York Times reported last week that Mr. Lay made a call to Curtis Hebert, who is the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and that he offered him a deal, according to the Times:
If Mr. Hebert changed his views on electricity deregulation, Enron would continue to support him in his new job. The Times reported that Mr. Hebert refused the offer, was offended, and thought that -- he knew of Mr. Lay's affiliation with the President -- and thought the refusal could put his job in jeopardy.
Two questions. One, is this dignified to have the President's friends mau-mauing regulators who regulate their companies?
And second, is Mr. Hebert's job in jeopardy?
Ari Fleischer: The President makes all of his decisions on personnel based on the merits of the people that he would seek to name.
In terms of -- I think your word was mau-mau, mau-mauing regulators -- for example, Governor Wilson has had some interesting things to say about members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In fact one of them will be meeting with Governor Wilson at the Governor's request. So, it is not unusual at all for people on Commissions to meet with -- I'm sorry, Governor Davis -- to meet with people who have expressed concerns about matters. But the President makes his decisions on personnel about people based on the merits of the people.
Mokhiber: Is his job in danger? Is his job in danger?
Fleischer: No.
. . .
Mokhiber: Ari, to follow up on the tax deal in the Senate --
Ari Fleischer: Yes, Russell.
Mokhiber: Princeton economist Paul Krugman put it this way -- he said "they simply waived their hands and made all of the revenue that will actually be lost in the last year of the ten-year tax period -- hundreds of billions of dollars -- disappear from the accounting."
He called it "white-collar crime, pure and simple." And he said Democratic Senators and Republican Senators alike who were involved with it should be sentenced to "a minimum security installation somewhere unpleasant."
I'm wondering --
Ari Fleischer: Would they be provided with lifelong subscriptions to Mr. Krugman's columns while they were there?
Mokhiber: Or the Corporate Crime Reporter?
Ari Fleischer: You did say something -- I'll leave it there.
Mokhiber: I had a question actually. . .
(Ari moves on.)
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter. He is also founder of singlepayeraction.org, and editor of the website Morgan County USA.
Mokhiber: Ari, Kenneth Lay is a close friend of the President's, and he is also the head of Enron Corporation in Houston. The New York Times reported last week that Mr. Lay made a call to Curtis Hebert, who is the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and that he offered him a deal, according to the Times:
If Mr. Hebert changed his views on electricity deregulation, Enron would continue to support him in his new job. The Times reported that Mr. Hebert refused the offer, was offended, and thought that -- he knew of Mr. Lay's affiliation with the President -- and thought the refusal could put his job in jeopardy.
Two questions. One, is this dignified to have the President's friends mau-mauing regulators who regulate their companies?
And second, is Mr. Hebert's job in jeopardy?
Ari Fleischer: The President makes all of his decisions on personnel based on the merits of the people that he would seek to name.
In terms of -- I think your word was mau-mau, mau-mauing regulators -- for example, Governor Wilson has had some interesting things to say about members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In fact one of them will be meeting with Governor Wilson at the Governor's request. So, it is not unusual at all for people on Commissions to meet with -- I'm sorry, Governor Davis -- to meet with people who have expressed concerns about matters. But the President makes his decisions on personnel about people based on the merits of the people.
Mokhiber: Is his job in danger? Is his job in danger?
Fleischer: No.
. . .
Mokhiber: Ari, to follow up on the tax deal in the Senate --
Ari Fleischer: Yes, Russell.
Mokhiber: Princeton economist Paul Krugman put it this way -- he said "they simply waived their hands and made all of the revenue that will actually be lost in the last year of the ten-year tax period -- hundreds of billions of dollars -- disappear from the accounting."
He called it "white-collar crime, pure and simple." And he said Democratic Senators and Republican Senators alike who were involved with it should be sentenced to "a minimum security installation somewhere unpleasant."
I'm wondering --
Ari Fleischer: Would they be provided with lifelong subscriptions to Mr. Krugman's columns while they were there?
Mokhiber: Or the Corporate Crime Reporter?
Ari Fleischer: You did say something -- I'll leave it there.
Mokhiber: I had a question actually. . .
(Ari moves on.)
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.