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BUSH PLANS TO P-A-R-D-O-N Lay
Mon Aug 9, 2004 21:22
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Ex-Enron Chief Lay Files for Quick Start to Trial

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By Matt Daily

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Former Enron Corp. Chairman Ken Lay filed court papers on Monday seeking to start his trial next month on fraud and conspiracy charges related to the downfall of the energy company.


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"Ken Lay is innocent and he wants a trial, and he's entitled to a speedy trial," Michael Ramsey, Lay's lawyer, told reporters.


In the motions filed to U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake, Lay sought to sever his case from the indictment handed down last month that added him to the cases against former Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling and former Chief Accounting Officer Richard Causey.


Lay, 62, asked the court for a Sept. 14 trial date, and waived his right to a jury, offering instead to put the case directly to Judge Lake.


In the filing, Lay's lawyers said a trial without a jury would probably last about three weeks.


Enron, once the darling of Wall Street, collapsed in 2001 after the energy trader's use of off-balance sheet partnerships to hide billions of dollars in debt were exposed.


Lay faces up to 175 years in prison and $5.75 million in fines if convicted on all 11 counts included in his indictment.


A scheduling hearing in the case against the three former Enron executives is set for Wednesday.


Ramsey accused Deputy Attorney-General James Comey of political posturing at a press conference in July when Lay's indictment was unsealed, and suggested the timing of the charges was related to the national elections set to take place in November.


"I despise the boasting that went on in the political ranks of the Justice Department (news - web sites) three weeks ago," Ramsey said.


"I'm just as serious as a heart attack when I say that we need to get this thing tried and we need to get it tried before the election," he added.


Ramsey said he expected the government to object to the request for a speedy trial and the motion to try Lay separately from Skilling and Causey, who are both facing dozens of charges.


A Justice Department spokesman was not immediately available to comment.


Lawyers for Skilling and Causey, whose trials are not expected to begin before 2005, are not opposed to severing the cases, Ramsey said.


Lay, who pleaded not guilty and is free on a $500,000 bond, resumed the position of Enron's chief executive officer after Skilling abruptly resigned just months before the company, once the seventh largest in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy.

LAY as in Frito-Lay? — Stephen M. St. John, Tue Aug 10 03:13
ENRON-BUSH-HARVARD-WTC-OIL-CONNECTION — Sherron Watkins, Mon Aug 9 21:54