If Mr. Duncan does not turn against his employer, the government must still prove that Andersen officials meant to commit a crime.

Mr. Duncan and other Andersen officials interviewed by the committee's investigators have called her e-mail unusual.

In Japan, he gained a strong understanding of just how precarious the firm's position was, Andersen officials said.

But there were sparks at the House hearing, which involved Andersen officials and was adversarial.

On the next day, Aug. 21, four Andersen officials met to discuss Ms. Watkins's concerns, investigators said.

If any of the Andersen officials involved in either of those situations have been disciplined, that fact has not been disclosed.

The Andersen official said the company discovered that employees outside Houston had deleted Enron e-mail messages after searching the company's computer system.

That opened the way for the government to establish a motive for Andersen officials to destroy documents related to Enron.

Officially, Andersen officials called the indictment an "extraordinary abuse of prosecutorial discretion."

Mr. Quattrone, experts say, appeared to have a much clearer knowledge of the investigations than Andersen officials did in the Enron matter.