WASHINGTON – A Republican congressman wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to probe Bill Clinton’s treasury secretary, Robert Rubin, for trying to get top Bush aides to help scandal-scarred Enron last year.
Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) said he wrote SEC chief Harvey Pitt seeking the probe because Democrats so far have refused to subpoena Rubin.
At issue are pro-Enron actions taken by Rubin in his current post as chairman of the executive committee of Citigroup, which is owed megabucks by now-bankrupt Enron.
Last fall, when credit rating agencies were about to downgrade Enron, Rubin called Treasury Undersecretary Peter Fisher and asked him to intervene to help Enron. The Treasury Department didn’t intervene.
Republicans charge Democrats such as Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) are trying to shield Rubin from embarrassment because he was a top Clinton aide. Lieberman’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment yesterday.
Foley, in his letter, cited the “questionable propriety of a former Treasury secretary trying to solicit financial favors from former colleagues at a department he once led.”
He also called on the SEC to probe all Enron trades submitted by Citigroup and its clients in the two weeks before and after Rubin sought to get governmental help for Enron.