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The
State of Reporting: Unreal
January
11, 2002
by Kentuck
What happened to good, old-fashioned reporting? We watch
reporters ask questions about how "sexy" the White House spokesmen
might be. To many of us, it seems they are all living in a
parallel universe. We want to see skeptical attitudes and
tough questions from our press and reporters.
With that in mind, I have created a virtual TV reporter.
All questions and answers are virtual, not real, but more
realistic than we expect from our "real" reporters.
TV Reporter: Welcome, Mr. Ashcroft. We read today that you
are planning a Justice Department investigation of Enron Corp.
Is that correct?
Mr. Ashcroft: That is correct. A lot of people lost their
savings and we need to find out what happened so that it never
happens again.
TV Reporter: It has been reported that there are 31 members
of the present Administration that have connections or have
been invested in Enron Corp. Are you one of those 31 members?
Mr. Ashcroft: I have never had any stock in Enron and I am
not sure of the number of people that you mentioned with connections
to Enron. Whatever the case, we will investigate to find the
truth.
TV Reporter: Isn't it true that you rec'd a $50,000 contribution
from Ken Lay of Enron in your last run for the Senate - one
in which you lost to a dead man? Is that correct?
Mr. Ashcroft: Yes, I received a personal contribution from
Ken Lay but not from Enron Corporation. Regardless that will
have no bearing on how we handle this investigation.
TV Reporter: Isn't it true that you received another $25,000
from Enron or Ken Lay to form a committee that assisted in
your campaign? Is there more we do not know about?
Mr. Ashcroft: Well, that committee was not directly related
to our campaign. Anyway, we have seen a lot of investors lose
their life savings and we want to get to the bottom of it
and make sure it doesn't happen again.
TV Reporter: Don't you think many Americans see those contributions
as a conflict of interest? And don't you think you should
recuse yourself and appoint a special prosecutor?
Mr. Ashcroft: Not at all. We will fully and thoroughly investigate
this Enron bankruptcy. We do not see a need for a special
prosecutor.
TV Reporter: Are you willing to investigate Enron's participation
in the secret energy meeting with the VP and other energy
interests? And , if you find possible criminal behavior by
Enron with regards to a possible oil and gas pipeline in Afghanistan,
are you willing to investigate that also? Or is your investigation
going to be limited to the loss of 401K's by Enron employees?
Mr. Ashcroft: If there are any criminal activities, we will
prosecute to the full extent of the law. We will go wherever
the investigation leads us.
TV Reporter: Well, thank you Mr. Ashcroft. We will be looking
over your shoulder and we will help you in your investigation
by uncovering the truth about Enron Corporation.
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