His Personality Parade
Former Enron CEO Skilling's Character Is on the Stand, And He's Emotional, Assertive and Downright Wonky
From left, former Enron chief Jeffrey Skilling, lawyer Daniel Petrocelli and founder Kenneth Lay have been in court for 11 weeks.
(By Pat Sullivan -- Associated Press)
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Thursday, April 13, 2006
HOUSTON, April 12 -- In three days on the witness stand, former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling has expressed many sides of his complex personality: his driving ambition, his emotional exhaustion, and on Wednesday -- his absentminded energy geek.
Skilling twice stepped down from the witness box Wednesday to give the jurors, who will decide whether he is guilty of fraud and other charges, a lesson in energy trading. He walked them through complicated charts designed to show that he did not break the law when he told analysts and investors that the company exuded health and had its risks under control.
Under the guidance of defense lawyer Daniel M. Petrocelli, who tried without success to urge Skilling to keep his explanations simple, Skilling appeared more confident than at any point during this 11-week-old trial.
On Monday, in his first day of testimony, Skilling appeared emotional and nervous, recounting the personal toll Enron's success -- and subsequent collapse -- had taken in his personal life, including his drinking and depression.
On Tuesday, he showed his in-charge, executive demeanor.
On Wednesday, he was in his element in a different manner: at the head of the class, instructing a group of listeners about why his ideas changed the industry.
"As soon as you balance your portfolio, you have eliminated price risk. . . . Does that make sense?" he asked the jury.
Petrocelli replied, "They can't answer your questions," as members of Skilling's family laughed from their seats in the front row.
Skilling, 52, repeatedly apologized for his extended rationales, but he couldn't resist elaboration. After his lawyer posed a hypothetical scenario, Skilling interjected, "Let's not do that; let's make it go from $4 to $3."
The response prompted a laugh from his fellow defendant and former Enron chairman Kenneth L. Lay, who is likely to testify later in the case.
What remains unclear is how jurors will square the image of Skilling comprehensively analyzing such issues as the impact of an August 2000 pipeline explosion on energy prices with his inability to remember other events -- including a key attempt to sell Enron stock a year later.
"I tried very hard to keep up to speed with what was happening" at Enron, Skilling testified Wednesday.
