What you should do when the subpoena from Waxman comes in the mail

Rules to follow:
"1) Panic. Hire your expensive representation now (a piece of advice we've highlighted before). Birnbaum quotes a PR consultant who advises that companies which "even suspect they're in jeopardy should take precautions." His short list: "oil and drug companies, contractors to the Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department, hedge funds and any firm that produces anything that contributes to global warming, including electric utilities and auto manufacturers."

2) Panic. Batten down the hatches. These investigators want to nail you, and what's worse, "these investigations are stalking horses for the Justice Department," one lawyer warns. If you don't absolutely have to give it up, don't. It might come back to haunt you.

3) Panic. If you've got something damning, get it out ASAP. "If you do have some bad news or bad information, get it out yourself, on your own terms and explain it," counsels Barbara Comstock, a star GOP crisis manager.

4) Act humble. As another lawyer puts it to Birnbaum: "You are not a big-time, hot-shot CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation. You are an American citizen, under oath and with limited rights, providing information to the U.S. Congress under their roof, rules and procedures."

5) Keep a distance. You are "working with" your investigators, not "cooperating." Don't let them walk all over you.

6) Be boring. More media means more scrutiny, and the media love defiant tycoons. Be as colorless and unmemorable as possible.

So there you have it. Now, get panicky!"

Update: Waxman is already at work over Blackwater:

"The California congressman said that Blackwater's services were not just pricey, but prohibited, because the Army never authorized Blackwater or any other Halliburton subcontractors to guard convoys or carry weapons. Houston-based Halliburton has been paid at least $16 billion to provide food, lodging and other support for troops in Iraq, and $2.4 billion to work on Iraqi oil infrastructure.

Waxman demanded "whether and how the Army intends to recover taxpayer funds paid to Halliburton and Blackwater for services prohibited under [Halliburton's] contract.""