While the White House has repeatedly described former
Enron chairman Kenneth Lay as simply a "supporter" of
George W. Bush, extensive correspondence between the two
men paints a far cozier picture of their relationship,
according to copies of letters obtained this afternoon
(2/15) by The Smoking Gun.
The pages of correspondence, exchanged during the years
Bush served as governor of Texas, were released today in
Austin by the state archives in response to Freedom of
Information requests filed by TSG and other news
organizations.
The Bush-Lay material touches on both personal matters
(birthday greetings and Bush's knee surgery) and public
concerns of Lay and Enron, such as energy legislation
and tort reform, and reflects the kind of jocular
relationship that reportedly saw the nickname-happy Bush
call the Enron boss "Kenny Boy." The Houston-based
energy firm, Bush's leading career political
contributor, is now bankrupt and the target of a
multitude of criminal and congressional probes.
We've arranged the Bush-Lay letters into several batches
and, where applicable, have followed an original letter
with the recipent's reply. TSG will upload the
correspondence as quickly as we can scan the documents.
You'll find the first 15 letters below along with links
that will get you to the additional pages.
Pages 1-15
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushlay1.html
NEXT>>
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushlay3.html
NEXT>>
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushlay4.html
