Journalist Robert Bryce Discusses the Death of Enron and the Firm's Close Ties to Bush

Enron's former chief accountant -- Richard Causey -- has pleaded guilty to securities fraud. Causey was scheduled to go on trial next month along with Enron's founder Kenneth Lay and ex-Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling. But now Causey is expected to cooperate with government prosecutors during the trial.

* Reid Weingarten, attorney for Richard Causey

That was Richard Causey's attorney Reid Weingarten. Causey had been facing more than 20 years in jail but under the terms of the plea deal he will serve no more than seven. He also admitted that he and other Enron executives had made false public filings and statements.

Four years ago Enron filed for bankruptcy after years of defrauding its own employees and investors. The bankruptcy put over 4,000 people out of work. The value of the company's stock dropped from ninety dollars to about 30 cents. Thousands of Enron employees lost their lifesavings. The opening of Lay and Skilling's trial has now been pushed back to January 30. Up until yesterday, Causey's attorneys were working directly with them on a joint defense.

* Michael Ramsey, attorney for Kenneth Lay

It remains unclear how the upcoming trial will affect President Bush - who was closely linked to the Texas-based firm. The family of Enron founder Ken Lay was one of President Bush's biggest financial backers. It donated about $140,000 to Bush's political campaigns in Texas and for the White House. The president personally nicknamed Ken Lay "Kenny Boy." Overall Enron employees gave Bush some $600,000 in political donations. According to the Center for Public Integrity this made Enron Bush's top career donor - a distinction the company maintained until last year. Shortly after Bush took office in 2001, Vice President Cheney reportedly met with Enron officials while he was developing the administration's energy policies.

* Robert Bryce, investigative reporter based in Austin, Texas. He has been covering U.S. energy issues since 1989 and is the author of two books: "Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron" and "Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America"s Superstate."

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