Appeals court skeptical that groups can obtain documents from Cheney energ

Appeals court skeptical that groups can obtain documents from Cheney energy task force
SAM HANANEL, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, January 27, 2005

(01-27) 09:47 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

Federal appeals court judges expressed skepticism Thursday over a lawsuit brought by groups seeking to learn whether the energy industry unduly influenced a panel that drafted the Bush administration's 2001 energy plan.

Most notably, the two judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit who had sided with the two groups in an earlier decision -- Harry Edwards and David Tatel -- said it was doubtful in light of a Supreme Court ruling last June that the organizations had any legal basis to gain access to records of meetings of the energy task force chaired by Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Sierra Club and Judicial Watch claim the public has a right to know what role y energy company executives played in crafting industry-friendly recommendations. They argue that industry participants who met with administration officials effectively became members of the task force while environmental and other groups were shut out.

The Bush administration opposes producing any records, saying that privacy is important to ensure members of such panels can speak candidly. The administration also maintains that the formal makeup of the task force was limited to government officials. Federal law requires government panels to conduct their business in public, unless all members are government officials.
(snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2005/01/27/national1247EST0575.DTL