Houston – Former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeff Skilling struggled to hold his temper Thursday at being pegged a liar and a crook by federal prosecutors, telling jurors in his criminal trial that he was devastated that the company he cherished became a symbol for scandal.
“I think they have purposely not looked at facts they should have looked at if they wanted to come to a more balanced and accurate conclusion,” Skilling declared with hardened eyes and a stiff jaw.
His comments came as defense lawyer Daniel Petrocelli led him through the government’s indictment, which accuses him of minimizing bad news in 2001 so investors and Wall Street would remain bullish on failing Enron ventures in broadband and retail energy.
Skilling almost took over the questioning, interrupting when Petrocelli said, “Let’s go on to the next sentence” in the indictment, with a tense, “Yes, let’s go on to the next sentence.”
Finally, he tried to rein in his visible anger.
“I’m sorry, I have to calm down here,” Skilling said in a tight voice.
Rather than return to routine questioning, Petrocelli let the plainspoken former chief executive known for speaking his mind roll with it.
“These are serious accusations?” Petrocelli asked.
“These are serious accusations,” Skilling repeated tightly. “This is a total misrepresentation, in my view, of the state of events that was occurring at the time, and I believe it would be very easy for someone to confirm that if they had any interest in confirming that.”
Skilling said he was crushed, not only because Enron spiraled into bankruptcy proceedings in December 2001 but also because there had been “a lot of damage to individuals subsequent to that, which was not a result of facts, or what really happened, but a result of rewriting of history to accomplish certain objectives people have that are not consistent with what happened in the company.”
“Did you believe you firmly had your hand on the wheel?” Petrocelli asked.
“Yes, I did,” Skilling replied.
“Did you think you were defending your company?” the attorney pressed.
“Yes, I did,” Skilling said.
“Did you think you had to lie to defend your company?” Petrocelli asked.
“No, I did not,” the ex-CEO declared.
