Home | China | World | Business U.S. Senator Calls for Appointing Special Counsel for Enron Probe WED, FEB 27, 2002     U.S. Democratic Senator Ernest Hollings on Tuesday urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to appoint a special counsel to head the criminal investigation into the collapse of Enron Corp.. Hollings, who questioned Ashcroft during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Justice Department's budget request, said he was concerned about the appearance of a conflict of interest in the Justice Department investigation into the Enron debate. "You've got to use the highest care to make sure (of) impartiality," Hollings said. "Under the law, you can appoint a special counsel, and that would end any misgiving that anybody could have about the final report." The Democrat from South Carolina commended Ashcroft for recusing himself in the investigation of Enron bankruptcy case, but he said more should be done. Hollings is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has been investigating the Enron collapse. According to the nonpartisan organization Center for Public Integrity, Ashcroft received nearly 61,000 dollars from Enron executives and the company's political action committee in 2000 Senate campaign. Ashcroft, who has recused himself in the investigation, appointed Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson in charge of the investigation. "I believe that it was my responsibility to recuse myself," Ashcroft said at the hearing. "Once I recused myself, I do not make further judgment about the case. I do not involve myself in the case." Hollings expressed his concern about a conflict of interest as Thompson has been working closely with Ashcroft and Thompson's former law firm had also represented Enron. "You know your deputy attorney general intimately. You work closely together," Hollings said, adding that if a special prosecutor were appointed, "then there'd be no question." Enron, the seventh largest company in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy protection on December 2, becoming the largest bankruptcy case in U.S. history. Investors nationwide lost money and thousands of Enron employees were stripped of their retirement savings in accounts loaded with Enron stock as it plummeted. The Justice Department, the Labor Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and various panels in U.S. Congress are investigating Enron and the role of its auditor, Arthur Andersen. Editor:Liu Hongji Source:Xinhua Recommend to your friend email:    China Central Television,All Rights Reserved