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There is a direct analogy to the Civil War here. Soon after the Union bega=
n to lose with much embarrassment in the field, a Committee For Overseeing = the Conduct of the War comprised of big angry guys from Congress was formed= , I'm not sure how. I think they just kind of announced that they were for= med. They began interviewing people and were quite viscious about their co= nclusions, if I recall correctly, they gave themselves the power to jail pe= ople. Lincoln endured them and eventually they atrophied, but this kind of = savage second guessing and vigilante vengance by elected legislators is d= efinitely a theme of politics. The notion that Dunn is seeking to keep thi= ngs quiet to prevent rumors is total bullshit. If I were one of those poor= saps being interviewed, I would get a lawyer and scream bloody murder abou= t due process. Dunn can only do harm with this tactic, and again, it shows= that the pathology of the body politic in Californicatia has advanced to i= ts most florid degree. These people are sick. ----cgy =20 -----Original Message----- From: =09Hall, Steve C. (Legal) =20 Sent:=09Tuesday, October 30, 2001 10:26 AM To:=09Yoder, Christian Cc:=09Williams III, Bill Subject:=09Witch hunt California state senator Joe Dunn is conducting a secret McCarthyesque inqu= isition of ISO Board members in an apparent effort to find a scapegoat to s= oak up the political blame for the energy crisis and divert negative critic= ism from Davis. Dunn better pick up the pace, the March primary election i= s only a few months away. Energy probe kept under wraps: In secret, a Capitol panel is deposing key p= layers in the lifting of a power price cap. By John Hill Bee Capitol Bureau (Published Oct. 30, 2001)=20 A legislative committee is taking secret depositions of energy officials in= a highly unusual effort to shed light on events that some believe triggere= d California's energy crisis almost a year ago.=20 The depositions, whose format was spelled out in a Senate resolution in Jul= y, represent a first for any state Legislature in the United States, accord= ing to Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Santa Ana. Dunn, a lawyer who chairs the Senate Sel= ect Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation of the Wholesale Energy Mar= ket, is taking most of the depositions.=20 Dunn said the secrecy is meant to prevent unfounded rumors from becoming pu= blic.=20 "We're trying to do this investigation in a thorough and professional fashi= on," he said. "I'm not interested in tarnishing anybody or any company with= information that doesn't turn out to be true."=20 But some think the secrecy is unwarranted and makes the testimony prone to = manipulation.=20 "My concern is that if we have secret depositions and the committee starts = issuing reports, the full context of what was said or talked about does not= come to true light," said Jan Smutny-Jones, executive director of the Inde= pendent Energy Producers, a trade association representing independent ener= gy facilities and power marketers. Smutny-Jones, the former board chairman = of the state's electrical grid operator, is scheduled to testify in early N= ovember.=20 Sen. Ray Haynes, R-Riverside, voted against the July resolution that laid t= he groundwork for the depositions and still has misgivings about the proces= s.=20 "Whenever you have politicians doing an investigation like that, there's a = risk that the investigation turns into a circus, especially when it's done = in secret," Haynes said.=20 Secrecy could allow people to "play hide and seek" with the testimony, he s= aid, releasing only those parts that support one theory. It could also allo= w the witnesses to attack the committee's findings by arguing that the whol= e story wasn't told.=20 "Over time, it hurts them," Haynes said.=20 All 16 subpoenas issued by Dunn's committee went to current or former board= members or staff of the Independent System Operator.=20 If those called on to give testimony want it public, Dunn said, he would gr= ant the request. So far, no one has asked.=20 What some energy officials really want, Dunn said, is access to other depos= itions.=20 "We're not going to give folks the opportunity to compare stories," he said= . "There's no reason they need to see what other people said."=20 The grid operator would prefer the testimony to be open, said spokeswoman S= tephanie McCorkle. As of Monday, Dunn had not informed the Independent Syst= em Operator officials that they can choose to make their testimony public, = she said.=20 "We think it would be a great opportunity to explain some of the complex is= sues" the grid operator faced last December, McCorkle said.=20 The committee is focusing on events in early December 2000, when Terry Wint= er, president and chief executive officer of the Independent System Operato= r, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to lift a price cap on po= wer. The cap of $250 per megawatt-hour was replaced with a "soft cap," in w= hich power sellers could charge more as long as they justified the higher c= osts.=20 Winter and other managers at the grid operator had a good relationship with= the board and were in the habit of consulting with it, Dunn said.=20 But on Dec. 8, Winter submitted the emergency filing without letting the bo= ard know.=20 "The ISO board was shocked at that filing," Dunn said.=20 In response to Winter's request, the normally slow-moving FERC issued an or= der within an hour and a half. The series of events "caused a lot of people= to be very suspicious of what led up to that filing," Dunn said.=20 The committee is investigating whether Winter and electrical generators eng= aged in a concerted effort to bring about the lifting of the price cap. It = has subpoenaed documents, personal calendars, e-mails and phone records. Th= ree or four depositions have been done, with the rest scheduled in the next= three weeks.=20 Some energy officials say that the theory being investigated by the Dunn co= mmittee is fatally flawed.=20 "If that's where it's directed, I don't think it's going anywhere," Smutny-= Jones said. "Terry was empowered to take action independently, which he did= do and it kept the lights on. I'm very troubled at someone trying to turn = Terry Winter into a scapegoat."=20 The ISO board at the time was "close to totally dysfunctional," Smutny-Jone= s said, making it reasonable for Winter to act alone. Winter's filing, and = the FERC response, are all well-documented.=20 "There was no conspiracy, no smoking guns there," he said.=20 The FERC order, in fact, kept electricity flowing into the state and allowe= d the grid operator to seek refunds later, McCorkle said.=20 Before the order, "there were literally no bids in our real-time market," s= he said.=20 But Dunn said the FERC had other options, such as ordering generators to se= ll into the California market.=20 Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Gov. Gray Davis, said ISO officials failed = to notify the governor of the emergency filing, despite the fact they met w= ith him on other matters that day.=20 "They clearly didn't want the governor to know," Maviglio said.=20 The Senate resolution says that no one can be present for the depositions e= xcept members and staff of Dunn's committee, the person taking the depositi= on, an official reporter, the person being deposed and his or her counsel. = Many of the ISO officials have retained private attorneys, whose bills will= be paid by the grid operator, as required by the nonprofit corporation's b= y-laws.=20 The California Constitution allows closed sessions of the Legislature and i= ts committees only in certain cases, such as party caucuses or to discuss p= ending litigation.=20 But Terry Francke, general counsel for the California First Amendment Coali= tion, said open meeting provisions likely would not apply to depositions wh= ere less than a quorum of the committee was present.=20 Dunn said only he and committee staffers have been present in the depositio= ns taken thus far.=20 The Bee's John Hill can be reached at (916) 326-5543 or jhill@sacbee.com <m= ailto:jhill@sacbee.com<.
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