Ex-Enron Executive Related A Dispute: Baxter Gave Account Before His Suicide

Two weeks before his suicide in January, former Enron Corp. executive J. Clifford Baxter told investigators aboutconflicts with the company's then-president, Jeffrey K. Skilling, that Baxter said marred his final years at the company, according to a memo on the interview.

The memo, which summarizes Baxter's Jan. 10 interview with lawyers from a special investigating committee of Enron's board of directors, describes "a major dispute" with Skilling in 2000. It was over an episode that Baxter felt undermined his authority as head of Enron North America -- the company's primary energy-trading unit.

The dispute came to a head at a staff meeting that year when Skilling embarrassed Baxter in front of two dozen executives by questioning the accuracy of a comment Baxter had made. Baxter almost resigned, was talked out of it by Skilling and then took a new job at Enron with a large pay cut, the memo said.