Nov. 19, 2004, 11:57PM
Bush nominee's work for Enron at issue
Proposed attorney general may recuse self in prosecution
By DAVID IVANOVICH
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's choice to be his next U.S. attorney general, may want to recuse himself from the Enron prosecutions if he takes over the reins of the Justice Department.
Gonzales did legal work for Enron in the early 1990s, while in private practice at Vinson & Elkins in Houston, which did a lot of legal work for the energy giant.Gonzales helped Enron set up EOTT Energy Partners, a master limited partnership involved in gathering, transporting and trading crude oil, refined products and natural gas liquids.His last billing for Enron-related work was in May 1994, noted Henry Reasoner, a partner with the firm. Enron collapsed seven years later.
Gonzales left Vinson & Elkins the following year to become then-Texas Gov. Bush's general counsel. He would later go on to serve as secretary of state and then as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court.
While serving on the bench, Gonzales received a $6,000 campaign contribution from Enron's now defunct political action committee, as well as $500 from an Enron employee, according to campaign records tracked by Austin-based Texans for Public Justice.
As attorney general, Gonzales would have the right to decide whether to distance himself from the Enron case.
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