Clinton Administration's ties were closer than previously known:

Enron and the Democrats

Man -- I had blocked Hazel O'Leary out of my memory -- she had to have been Clinton's worst Cabinet Secretary.

The Dems. are backing off a bit on their Congressional investigations of Enron and other corporate scandals -- since they fear it will turn around and bite them (look at Lieberman's hemming-and-hawing over whether to call Bob Rubin before his committee).

This from the upcoming Newsweek: Cong. investigators "picking through the wreckage of scandal-struck corporations" like Enron and Global Crossing "privately acknowledge" that "new evidence has turned up that could seriously embarrass politicians of both political parties." However, neither GOPers nor Dems "appear eager to exploit this material in the run-up to" the '02 election.

In addition to holding hearings on Enron's collapse and the ImClone scandal, the House Energy and Commerce Cmte "requested and received stacks of records from a dozen other troubled corporations" ranging from Adelphia to Xerox. Sources say these records "contain information that could create awkward pre-election headlines for two Democratic senators and a top party official." However, the cmte "has no current plan to release the documents before November."

Meanwhile, Senate Gov't Affairs Cmte investigators "acknowledge they have taken delivery of Enron files relating to" Enron's "dealings with" gov't agencies. A spokesperson for Senate Gov't Affairs Cmte Chair Joe Lieberman (D) says Lieberman "may well hold hearings or issue reports related to Enron before November." The spokesperson said "these proceedings could examine Enron's dealings with federal regulators, though she said she had no idea of any possible political consequences." A spokesperson for House Energy and Commerce Cmte Chair Billy Tauzin ® said his cmte has "resisted attempts to politicize our investigations, but, if necessary, we know how to play the game, too" (8/26 issue)