The appearance before a Senate committee of a former chairman of Enron on Feb. 12 was hardly edifying. Senators, like the rest of us, are entitled to that freedom of speech that they vigorously exploited on that occasion to condemn predatory business practices and remarkably self-serving “leadership” (“Senators pummel silent Lay,” Page 1, Feb. 13).
But is it not improper to subpoena a citizen to appear before a congressional committee, knowing that he will almost certainly invoke his 5th Amendment right to remain silent, and then have 21 senators subject him to bipartisan abuse? Should we not still prefer to have both an indictment and a trial before prominent public servants mercilessly condemn a potential defendant?
In some instances, one suspects, the attackers were trying to purge themselves of their former associations with the target of their abuse.
