WASHINGTON (voa) – Another congressional committee has announced a probe into the bankrupt Texas-based energy giant Enron.
Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman said Wednesday the Government Affairs Committee will subpoena key documents from Enron’s board of directors and top managers.
The senator said Enron’s sudden collapse from being one of America’s most powerful companies to bankruptcy raises troubling questions. He also said the committee will not rule out a probe into connections between Enron and the White House.
Several top Enron executives were strong backers of the the Bush election campaign, and Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay played a large part in helping formulate the Bush energy plan.
Enron specialized in finding sources of energy, such as oil and natural gas, and selling its discoveries to the highest bidder.
But the company entered into several failed partnerships and went deep into debt, which many investors did not know about. Enron filed for bankruptcy protection last month after a failed takeover bid.
U.S. regulators want to know how top Enron executives were able to sell off their stock in the company before its collapse, while thousands of employees, whose retirement plans were deeply invested in Enron, were forbidden from selling their shares.
Five other House and Senate panels are also investigating the collapse of Enron.
Enron stock was selling at $90 a share in 2000. Wednesday, it was trading at 64 cents a share on the New York Stock Exchange.
