Washington: Riding high on President George W Bush's popularity, the administration this week suddenly found itself on the defensive amid allegations that corporate interests such as Enron have had undue influence in the White House.

Analysts believe that the Bush administration is prepared to weather allegations of conflict of interest in the wake of Enron's collapse, a scandal one expert said is potentially on a par with Watergate.

Congressional investigators on January 30 announced that they would take the White House to court to obtain documents detailing the formulation of the country's energy policy, including contacts between Vice President Dick Cheney and collapsed energy giant Enron.

The White House said that it would fight and win the legal battle to keep documents secret and out of the hands of the US Congress, which has launched a series of investigations into the demise of Enron, the biggest corporate scandal in US history.

"The President will stand strong on principle, fighting for his right and the right of all future Presidents to receive advice and not reveal it," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

James Thurber, professor and director of the Centre for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, compared the lawsuit to the infamous Watergate tapes case that ultimately brought down former President Richard Nixon in 1974.