White House to GAO: 'See you in court'

Cheney told lawmakers he would not release additional information on his energy task force.

(CNN) -- The Bush administration struck a defiant tone Saturday over congressional legal efforts to force Vice President Dick Cheney to release information about the energy task force he ran last year.

The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, has said it wants to know several things about the closed-door meetings, including the names of energy executives who attended, when and where the meetings were held and how much they cost.

Cheney, who has shared information only as it relates to Enron, told Senate Republicans this week he did not intend to release more details, CNN learned. The meetings led to the creation of Bush's energy plan last year.

GAO Comptroller General David Walker said Saturday he hoped to avoid a court battle but might sue Cheney if the issue is not resolved.

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A senior White House aide said Saturday the administration was fighting for "principles," including the administration's ability to conduct "thoughtful deliberations in private."

The aide said the GAO's possible legal action, while "unprecedented," would not be surprising.

"We'll see them in court," said the aide, who asked not to be identified. "We do not expect them to prevail."

The Democratic National Committee said it was considering filing its own complaint against the Bush administration, this one with the Federal Election Commission.

The DNC claims senior Bush adviser Karl Rove arranged to have Enron hire key Republican strategist Ralph Reed in 1997, while Bush was considering a run for president.

The Bush administration's Office of Management and Budget, meanwhile, asked Friday for a review of all government contracts involving Enron and its former accounting firm, Andersen LLP. The review involves 100 contracts valued at more than $60 million.

Reed denied reports that Bush adviser Karl Rove engineered his hiring by Enron.

In addition to several congressional committees, the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Enron's swift collapse and its decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection December 2, 2001 -- the largest such filing in U.S. history.

Thousands lost their pensions and life savings in Enron's downfall, which began last fall when the firm acknowledged several hundred million dollars of previously undisclosed liabilities.

GAO targets Cheney

Pressure on the White House has intensified in recent days, with four Democratic senators writing the GAO to express support for its pursuit of information related to the Cheney-led energy task force.

In a letter Friday to Cheney, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, said the Bush administration added a provision in its energy plan late in the process encouraging oil and gas production in India -- which would have helped Enron's troubled power plant project in that country.

"If they don't have anything to hide, they ought to let it out," Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan, told CNN. "If they want to be suspected, they ought to keep hiding things."

A former oil executive, Cheney told lawmakers he met with Enron officials, including then-CEO Kenneth Lay, six times last year, CNN learned.

A senior White House aide said that releasing information on Cheney's energy task force would set a precedent infringing on the president's ability to receive advice in private.

Walker said Saturday he would make a decision sometime after President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday about whether to file a lawsuit against Cheney. (Full story)

DNC questions Reed's hiring

Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition and now chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, said he checked with the Enron executive who hired him in 1997, and the executive said he had never spoken with Rove about Reed's hiring. (Full story)

The executive, Reed said, checked with two others involved in his hiring and they too said they had never spoken with Rove.

The DNC said Enron's hiring of Reed might have been an illegal corporate contribution to the Bush campaign.

"We are considering the option of filing an FEC complaint against the Bush campaign to question whether Enron was a subsidiary of the Bush campaign by paying Ralph Reed to do political work for President Bush," said Jennifer Palmieri, spokeswoman for the DNC.

Under federal election laws, a campaign for federal office may not accept contributions or "anything of value" from a corporation unless given through a political action committee. Campaigns must disclose all contributions to the FEC.

OMB orders review of Enron ties

The White House Office of Management and Budget on Friday ordered all government agencies that have contacts with Enron or its former accounting firm, Andersen LLP, to review those agreements to determine if the companies are performing their duties.

The review affects about 100 contracts valued at more than $60 million in the last fiscal year.

OMB Director Mitch Daniels cited "recent press reports [highlighting] potential irregularities" -- including document shredding and manipulative accounting practices -- and asked the General Services Administration to launch its review "on behalf of all federal agencies doing business" with the two companies. (Full story)

Ex-Enron exec committed suicide

The Harris County, Texas, medical examiner ruled Saturday that former Enron executive J. Clifford Baxter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, as was suspected.

Congressional investigators intended to interview Baxter next week and had the impression from his lawyer that he would cooperate, according to a congressional source.

The energy giant's former vice chairman was considered a "bit player" in the Enron probe, but "someone told us he had information that would be useful," the source said.

Police found Baxter dead in his 2002 Mercedes Benz early Friday, along with a .38 caliber revolver registered to Baxter and a suicide note, the contents of which they did not disclose. There were no signs of foul play, investigator Pam Johnson told CNN.

Baxter, 43, resigned from Enron last May, reportedly unhappy with the company's business practices, including its partnership with a company called LJM.

Friends told CNN he was disappointed in recent days, "stressed" because he had been named in lawsuits filed by shareholders against the company. (Full story)

Enron close to naming new CEO

Enron edged closer Saturday to replacing Lay, who resigned Wednesday, narrowing the list of candidates to two semifinalists, a source familiar with the search told CNN.

The company's board of directors winnowed the field in a meeting Saturday, the source said.

The front-runner was Stephen Cooper, a corporate turnaround specialist with the New York-based consulting firm Zolfo Cooper. The other candidate is a male executive, but no other details were immediately available.

An announcement could be made within three to four days, the source said, but another source said the decision could come as early as this weekend.