Skilling says he

HOUSTON, TEXAS - Former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling struggled to hold his temper at being pegged a liar and a crook by federal prosecutors, telling jurors in his criminal trial that he was devastated the company he cherished became a symbol for scandal.

"I think they have purposely not looked at facts they should have looked at if they wanted to come to a more balanced and accurate conclusion," Skilling declared with hardened eyes and a stiff jaw.

His comments came as defense lawyer Daniel Petrocelli led him through the government's indictment, which accuses him of minimizing bad news in 2001 so investors and Wall Street would remain bullish on failing Enron ventures in broadband and retail energy.

Skilling tried to rein in his visible anger. "I'm sorry, I have to calm down here," he said in a tight voice.

Rather than return to routine questioning, Petrocelli let the plainspoken ex-CEO, known for speaking his mind, roll with it.

"These are serious accusations?" Petrocelli asked.

"These are serious accusations," Skilling repeated tightly. "This is a total misrepresentation, in my view, of the state of events that was occurring at the time, and I believe it would be very easy for someone to confirm that if they had any interest in confirming that."

He and his co-defendant, Enron founder Kenneth Lay, have complained that witnesses who could corroborate their claim that no fraud occurred at Enron won't step forward for fear of being targeted by prosecutors. Skilling has also said that the ex-Enron executives who have pleaded guilty to crimes cut deals with prosecutors - even though he says they did nothing wrong - out of fear of expensive trials and lengthy prison terms.

Skilling said he was crushed, not only because Enron spiraled into bankruptcy proceedings in December 2001, but also because there had been "a lot of damage to individuals subsequent to that, which was not a result of facts, or what really happened, but a result of rewriting of history to accomplish certain objectives people have that are not consistent with what happened in the company."

Prosecutors allege Skilling and Lay repeatedly lied to investors and employees about Enron's health, using false optimism to hide weak business ventures and accounting tricks to create an image of success. They attribute the failure of what was once the country's seventh-largest company to bad publicity and lost market confidence.

"I bled Enron blue," he told jurors, invoking a company slogan for loyalty. "I believed in this company. I believed this was a fine company [in 2001]... a vibrant company, in fact, having some of the best financial performance in the history of the company."

Jurors began to take notes during Skilling's rant.

Skilling is charged with 28 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors, while Lay faces six counts of fraud and conspiracy.