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Ex-Enron chief Lay might testify, senator says

Former Enron Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Lay may testify to Congress after all when he appears next week before a committee probing the energy trading giant's collapse, Sen. Byron Dorgan said on Friday.

Lay backed out of a voluntary appearance before the Senate Commerce Committee on Monday this week, after his lawyer complained about "prosecutorial" comments by lawmakers on last Sunday's television talk shows.

Lawmakers had hoped to ask Lay about business deals that critics charge hid massive debts and inflated profits at Enron until it filed the biggest US bankruptcy ever on Dec. 2.

Now the Senate Commerce Committee has subpoenaed Lay to force him to appear before the panel next Tuesday, but he had been widely expected to assert his constitutional Fifth Amendment right to remain silent to avoid incriminating himself.

Dorgan said however that the panel had received no indication from Lay's lawyers so far that he would invoke the Fifth Amendment.

"There's some indication from that exchange with our attorneys that we will have not only Mr. Lay present, but we may also, in the Congress and from the American people's standpoint, hear Mr. Lay testify," Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, told a press conference.

The House Financial Services Committee, which had also expected to hear from Lay this week, has subpoenaed him to appear next Thursday.

A spokeswoman for Lay said he was continuing to weigh his options on testifying.

"He will determine his strategy on how he will handle the hearings later. He has not decided," spokeswoman Kelly Kimberly said.

Enron interim CEO pledges co-operation

Dorgan also said he had spoken to the Enron's interim CEO Steve Cooper, who had pledged to try and find out the names of investors in Enron's off-the-books partnerships that concealed company debt.

Dorgan said the Enron puzzle could not be solved without all the information. "Who did they enlist to get the three per cent of the private funding for these off-the-books partnerships?" he asked.

Dorgan, who heads the Commerce subcommittee on consumer affairs, one of many congressional panels probing Enron, admitted Lay and his attorney could change their minds again about whether the former Enron CEO should testify.

"They could very well call us on Monday night and alert us that he will be asserting his Fifth Amendment rights" to remain silent, Dorgan said. "He certainly has that opportunity, my hope is that he will not do that."

Asked if Lay had decided to talk because he had seen former Enron President and CEO Jeffrey Skilling testify to a House committee on Thursday, Dorgan said: "Possibly. But I wouldn't have any way of knowing that."

In his testimony, Skilling shouldered no blame for the bankrupt energy trader's collapse, saying he was unaware of problems at Enron when he resigned as CEO on Aug. 14.

Skilling has also promised to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee, although a date has not been set, Dorgan said.

After Lay canceled his appearance earlier this week, several lawmakers said they did not believe he would ever testify to Congress on Enron. One senator, Montana Republican Conrad Burns, went so far as to say he would eat his hat if Lay did testify.

"Some of those Montanans wear big hats," Dorgan said, "so Mr. Burns better skip breakfast."

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