Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling began the rather tough task of convincing the jurors that he's just like you and me — er, like them — during his first day of testimony in his and ex-Enron Chairman Ken Lay's trial yesterday. Skilling, you'll remember, was known for the grace and charm with which he treated people during his days at the Big E (there was that infamous conference call during which Skilling called an analyst a dirty name, and during the trial's early days he reportedly did the same to prosecution witness Mark Koenig.) But Monday, he was self-effacing and maybe even a teeny bit charming:
He said "by some huge mistake on the part of Harvard Business School they let me in," and told jurors that he offered to come back to Enron when it was in crisis in October 2001 "not that I'm God's gift to the world or anything."
We did say "a teeny bit." In his testimony, Skilling told jurors his August 2001 resignation from Enron was strictly based on personal reasons: He said he thought the company was in great shape when he left and that it was "almost inconceivable" to him that Enron collapsed just months later. Skilling said he doesn't remember trying to sell one-fifth of his Enron stock days before the Sept. 11 attacks despite testimony from his broker that he had done so. He did say he remembered selling some stock on Sept. 17 because he was worried that the economy was going into a "free fall" after the attacks — not, as he's maintained, because he knew Enron was in trouble.
Skilling spent a great deal of his time on the stand Monday talking about his life at Enron. He said he loved helping build the company, but his work eventually began conduming his life.
"I was tired, I was exhausted. I'd put so much of my life into it. Every day was intense, and I had not spent the time I should have spent with my family, I did not spend the time I should have spent in the community," he said of his decision to leave.
After leaving the company, Skilling testified that he heard about Enron's troubles and that worrying about the company drove him to drink. He said he consulted a lawyer and psychiatrist and prepared for a "witch hunt" about Enron's downfall — he talked to internal Enron board investigators, the Securities and Exchange Commission and congressional investigators. He even said he offered to talk to prosecutors, but they didn't want to hear from him. "I'm absolutely innocent," Skilling told jurors.
(In an odd bit of testimony, Skilling told jurors former head of investor relations Mark Koenig was one of the most honest people he knew, according to NPR's report. In the trial's early days, Koenig testified that Skilling had OK'd all sorts of shady corporate practices. It'll be interesting to see what the prosecution — or the defense, for that matter — does about that.)
Skilling's lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, said he expects Skilling to be on the stand all week.
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