By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key Senate Democrat said on Wednesday there was a possibility that former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin would be called to testify on Capitol Hill about his knowledge of the demise of Enron Corp. .
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But Sen. Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee ( news - web sites), suggested the panel had no plans at the moment to call Rubin, now a Citigroup executive who last autumn asked the Bush administration to intervene on Enron's behalf with Wall Street credit rating agencies.
Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat, said his committee's staff would be examining whether it would be "constructive" to invite Rubin to testify.
Recently congressional investigators have accused Citigroup and J.P. Morgan of helping Enron for years to hide debt that ultimately led to the energy-trader's collapse in December, when the Houston-based company filed for bankruptcy.
Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald of Illinois, a member of Lieberman's committee, wrote to Lieberman this week suggesting that Rubin be invited to testify along with Sanford I. Weill, chairman and chief executive of Citigroup.
In the House of Representatives, Republican Rep. Mark Foley has been more vociferous, charging that Lieberman -- a potential Democratic presidential challenger in 2004 -- and his fellow Democrats have "turned a blind eye" to Rubin's possible involvement with Enron because of Rubin's close ties to Democrats. Rubin served as treasury secretary under former President Clinton ( news - web sites) for over five years.
"It's a possibility," Lieberman said of calling Rubin to testify. "We're going to now look at what we know about any involvement Bob Rubin had and whether calling him would be constructive."
"I wouldn't hesitate to call him if we can prove that there's anything to add to our investigation," Lieberman added, speaking to reporters in a Capitol Hill hallway.
Lieberman said as soon as the Senate has passed homeland security legislation this autumn, the Governmental Affairs Committee would return to its long-running Enron probe and may schedule more hearings. In May the committee subpoenaed White House records of official interactions with Enron.
'PREPAYS' EXAMINED
Congressional investigators working for a subcommittee of Lieberman's committee this month fingered Citigroup and J.P. Morgan. They said the bank, along with J.P. Morgan, provided Enron with $8.5 billion in loans disguised as commodity trades conducted through offshore shell companies.
But spokeswoman Kathleen Long said that the subcommittee probe had not found evidence of Rubin's involvement in the "prepay" transactions that allegedly helped Enron hide debt.
"The investigation has centered on the so-called prepays, and there is no evidence that Mr. Rubin was involved in the prepays," she said. Long is a spokeswoman for Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, chairman of the investigations subcommittee.
Fitzgerald says Rubin should be called to testify anyway because of his known attempt to try and help Enron avoid having its credit rating downgraded last autumn as the company's debt situation was imploding.
The Bush administration disclosed in January that Rubin had called a top Treasury Department ( news - web sites) official, Peter Fisher, in November, asking Fisher to intervene with rating agencies on Enron's behalf.
Fisher declined. Moody's Investor Service has also reported receiving a call from Rubin in November as it was poised to downgrade Enron's credit rating status. Moody's also rejected Rubin's appeal and issued the downgrade. Enron filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 2.