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Questions dog head of Army
By PAUL DE LA GARZA, Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON -- He is being investigated by the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Pentagon inspector general. Two weeks ago, he infuriated his boss, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and almost got fired. Op-ed writers, including those at the New York Times and the Houston Chronicle, his former hometown newspaper, have called for his resignation. But Army Secretary Thomas White, the son of a Detroit bus driver who became a millionaire executive with the now-bankrupt Enron Corp., endures. The question now is, for how long? If the pulse at the Pentagon's Army offices is any indication, the answer is, not for long. White has been accused of getting inside information before dumping Enron stock, of using military aircraft for personal trips and of undermining a decision by Rumsfeld to scrap an artillery system. His problems have started to weigh on Army personnel, who routinely field telephone calls about White from reporters around the world. Last week, at a Pentagon news conference to announce the cancellation of the Army's $11-billion Crusader artillery system, reporters pounced. With Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz at his side, White was bombarded: Q: Many of us thought you'd be toast by now, based on what happened last week. Q: You were criticized for not divesting yourself of your Enron stock in an orderly, timely fashion. You were also criticized for taking military (aircraft) on a couple of occasions -- one to go to Aspen to sell a house. Q: Secretary White, since you also said you are accountable for people on your staff, how do you see your future as head of the service? White brushed off the last question with a joke. For the men and women in uniform, however, the exchanges are insulting, and the appearance of impropriety is sullying the service's reputation. Privately and publicly, critics say White is proving too much of a distraction to President Bush and the Army at a time of war, and that it's time for him to go. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Armed Services Committee, thinks the controversy is hurting the country. "I think his future is dim," Nelson said Friday. "I think he's under such a cloud that I think he ought to resign immediately." Specifically, Nelson cited the importance of the Army in homeland defense. "You can't skip a beat in the defense of the homeland," Nelson said. "You need to have somebody, no question, who can lead and not be distracted." Nonsense, said Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and an expert on defense issues. "I don't join in with those who say he should resign," Young said. "Every time there is an official with a little controversy, there are those who say he should resign. That's a political game." Young, who has met with White several times, said resignations should be based on facts. "He has always been very forthright and open with me," he said. For now, White is staying. Army spokesman Maj. Steve Stover said White, 58, enjoys the support of Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz. On Friday, Stover cited a statement by Wolfowitz calling White, "the best (Army secretary) we've ever had." Still, veteran Hill watchers say it's a matter of time before the White House shows White the door. With upcoming elections, analysts argue, the administration will have a change of heart because the Democrats will try to make an issue out of Enron. "I think his credibility is shot," said John Isaacs, president of the Washington-based Council for a Livable World, which monitors defense issues. When Bush named White the Army's highest-ranking civilian last May, he touted not only his Army background but his corporate credentials: 11 years as an Enron executive. The thinking was that White, a West Point graduate who served two tours of duty in Vietnam and rose to brigadier general under then-Gen. Colin Powell in the 1980s, would help run the Pentagon like a business. White oversees a budget of tens of billions of dollars and a workforce of 1-million regular Army, National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers, and 270,000 civilian employees. It is his business dealings that have caught the eye of federal investigators. Last spring, White resigned his $5.5-million-a-year job as vice chairman of Enron Energy Services, an Enron subsidiary. Investigators want to know whether he violated insider trading laws when he dumped $12.1-million worth of Enron stock between June and October last year. White has acknowledged having had contact -- on the telephone or in person -- with current or former Enron employees in his first 10 months as secretary but insists he did nothing wrong. He also says he knows nothing about the shady business deals that led to Enron's collapse. That has led to an interesting debate. Eliot Cohen, director of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University's Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, recently addressed the issue in an opinion column. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Cohen said that if White was unaware of Enron's misdeeds, "one wonders about the corporate expertise which he supposedly brings to the job of Army secretary." Enron isn't White's only headache. The Pentagon inspector general is investigating allegations that White improperly used government planes for personal travel. He reportedly used a military jet for a personal trip to Aspen, Colo., where he and his wife closed on the sale of a $6.5-million home. Two weeks ago, White ran into trouble with Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld thought White had gone behind his back to save Crusader. The Army had sent members of Congress "talking points" on saving the artillery system. On Friday, as a result of an investigation into the talking points, the Army announced the resignation of Kenneth A. Steadman, a political appointee. The investigation found that despite Rumsfeld's preliminary decision to terminate the Crusader program, White asked deputies to prepare a document supporting the program because it was still in Bush's budget. But the document "contained inappropriate, inaccurate and offensive language and did not represent the Army's view," the Army said in a statement. It said an investigation by the Army inspector general found Steadman delivered a draft of the document to members of Congress and staff without getting it approved by White or another superior. Rumsfeld said he considers the matter closed and does not think White has been disloyal. At the Pentagon news briefing last week, White was asked if he had made a mistake with his handling of the Enron stock and his trip to Aspen. White said, "Well, I suppose any time we go through a period like that and we generate the interest that it did, you look back on those circumstances and you think about things you'd would have done differently, and I guess I would've, yes." -- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Thomas E. White Jr.AGE: 58, born Dec. 14, 1943, in Detroit. EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in engineering from U.S. Military Academy at West Point; master's in operations research from U.S. Naval Postgraduate School; U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; Army War College. MILITARY: Commissioned in Army in 1967; two tours in Vietnam; commander, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; commander, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, V Corps; and executive assistant to the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; rose to rank of brigadier general in 1990. CORPORATE: From 1990 to 2001, worked for Enron Corp. as vice president of operations, chairman and chief executive officer for Enron Power Corp., and vice chairman of Enron Energy Services. PERSONAL: He and his wife, Susan, have a daughter, Katie, and two sons, Tommy and Chuck. Building a 15,145-square-foot beachfront house in Naples, Fla. -- SOURCES: 2002 Federal Staff Directory; congressional testimony; Naples Daily News.
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