Charles R. Smith
Thursday, April 24, 2003

The U.S Commerce Department has been forced to release over 3,000 pages of documents detailing the long list of corrupt deals, trips and government candy doled out to Enron by President Clinton.

The Bush administration did not want to release these documents but was forced by this reporter using the Freedom of Information Act.

Greek Gray Davis

For example, in 1999 Gov. Gray Davis of California led a $200,000 trade trip to Europe that was very high on the Enron list. Davis tripped on California taxpayer expense with his wife in ancient Greece, lobbying on behalf of Enron Wind for the "Greek Wind Project."

The project in Greece was so important that Davis also took his good friend, major DNC donor and Sacramento developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos. Tsakopoulos and his family are million-dollar contributors to the Democratic National Committee or Democrat candidates including Davis, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. Tsakopoulos also spent time as a guest in the White House Lincoln bedroom.

According to documents forced from the U.S. Commerce Department, Enron Wind noted that Davis and Tsakopoulos were tripping to Greece with some very unusual comments:

"Best man at my Greek wedding," noted one handwritten comment next to a Los Angeles Times article on Tsakopoulos attached to documents from the U.S. Embassy in Athens.

"Major Clinton donor – may be on Clinton trip to Greece."

Enron considered the trade trip so important that it also included a 22-page briefing paper addressed to Gov. Davis detailing the "Greek Wind Project Permitting Issue." Interestingly, the same briefing paper made its way into the commercial section of the U.S. Embassy in Athens.

"An issue has arisen which seems to have some negative implications for follow-on investment in the renewable energy sector," states the Enron document.

"Namely on 4 August 1999, a decree was issued by the Ministry of Development which changes the procedure for obtaining future construction licenses for wind projects on the island of Crete and certain other islands. The decree would have a negative impact on a $30 million project Enron Wind was about to begin construction on in Crete, the Chronos (pronounced Honos) project."

The 1999 documents are part of a long string of heavy lobbying efforts that the Clinton administration carried out to convince the Greeks to buy Enron Wind products for Crete.

For example, a 1998 document prepared for the U.S. ambassador to Greece noted, "The company [Enron] was given an installation license last year, but construction was held up while an archeological study was performed. In the interim, the licenses lapsed and Enron's request for a renewal has not been answered."

"Enron should send more high-level visitors to Greece to underscore the importance of this market," states the 1998 memo to the U.S. ambassador to Greece.

Enron – NATO – Croatia

Enron also pushed the limits inside the former Yugoslavia. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown worked on an Enron contract in Croatia just prior to his death in 1996. Brown's death did place the project on hold but only for a short period of time.

In 1997, Enron executives flew to Croatia with Clinton Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor. The trade trip took place just after Enron executives made a $100,000 donation to the DNC. As a result, Enron struck a deal with the Croatian government to build a power station and run it for 20 years at a highly inflated price of nearly $200 million above market prices.

However, tapes of the Enron negotiations with Croatian officials show the U.S. energy company had promised more than electricity at higher than normal cost. According to the Financial Times, Croatia hoped the Enron deal would secure political favors inside the Clinton administration, including a state visit to Washington and membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In one reported meeting, Enron's head of international operations, Joseph Sutton, guaranteed that Enron would lobby for the Croatian president to meet Clinton and to seek Clinton's support for Croatia's entry into the WTO, the NATO partnership for peace program and eventually into NATO.

In 1999, Enron Executive Vice President Terence Thorn wrote a personal letter of thanks to President Clinton, carrying out the promised support for Croatia.

"I have good news about an opportunity in a strategically important nation, Croatia. Enron International through the direct involvement of President Franjo Tudjman has successfully concluded negotiations to build a 240 MW natural gas powered plant at Jertovec, Croatia," wrote Thorn to Clinton.

"Our people have come to know Croatia, its people and its President. Through our power project Croatia solidified those ties and welcomed the United States as its largest foreign investor. Croatia is also cooperating with NATO to bring peace to the Balkan region," wrote Thorn.

"President Tudjman's support and perseverance in having a United States company participate in Croatia's economy deserves to be recognized. He would welcome an invitation from you to come to the White House. I respectfully request President Tudjman be invited to visit you in the White House at the earliest possible time," concluded Thorn.

India and Points Beyond

The most infamous Enron project is the troubled Dabhol power plant in India. President Clinton highlighted Enron's problems with its planned $3 billion Dabhol power project in a short "FYI" note to his chief of staff Mack McLarty. McLarty worked with Enron and the U.S. ambassador in New Delhi to keep tabs on the Dabhol project.

Four days before India finally granted approval for the project, Enron donated $100,000 to the DNC.

Many former Clinton administration officials eventually went to work for Enron, including former White House counsel Jack Quinn, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, former Assistant Treasury Secretary Linda Robertson, former Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Elizabeth Moler, and the former media adviser to Vice President Al Gore, Greg Simon.

The newly released documents show that the Clinton administration worked for Enron in China, Vietnam, South Africa, India, Brazil, Argentina, Mozambique, South Korea, Japan, Belgium, France, Russia, the Philippines, the West Bank and Uzbekistan.

The scandal that became Enron touched more than a few employees and stockholders. It corrupted nation after nation, spreading its wings as part of Bill Clinton's stained legacy. 

For the first paragraphs of this excerpt go to: http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/4/23/133051.shtml