Judge rejects Bush administration’s attempts to delay disclosure of energy documents In a setback to the Bush administration’s efforts to avoid handing over key energy documents, a Federal District Judge decisively rejected the government’s attempted appeal to a higher court. As we go to press, the strongly-worded decision means that the judge’s earlier order compelling the White House to release the documents by December 9th remains in effect. “This decision brings the American people one step closer to finding out just who the Vice President’s energy task force met with in drafting its dirty, dangerous energy plan,” said David Bookbinder, senior attorney with the Sierra Club. Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan gave short shrift to the Vice President’s plea to send the case up to the court of appeals. He strongly rebuked the government, asserting that “once again the defendants have misrepresented precedent.” He also admonished the Justice Department for “mischaracterizing the intent and effect of this court’s orders.” “The energy policy that came out of the administration has serious impacts on the health and safety of American communities. The public deserves to know who drafted that policy,” said Bookbinder. For months, the administration has resisted producing documents for discovery and instead has used stall tactics in order to delay the process. The Sierra Club suit asserts that by refusing to tell the public about the influence energy industries had in crafting national energy policy, the Cheney Task Force violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The Sierra Club is asking the court to require Vice President Cheney and other defendants to disclose to the American people what went on behind closed doors in the creation of the national energy policy. The suit has been consolidated with a similar suit filed by Judicial Watch. The energy policy that ultimately came out of the Administration relies on technologies that will pollute our air and water, destroy special places and fail to reduce our dependence on oil and coal. At the very least, the American people deserve an explanation of why the Administration chose this path rather than safer and cleaner technologies that would protect the environment and save consumers money at the same time. The Sierra Club is asking for a full accounting of what happened behind the closed doors of the Cheney Energy Task Force, including: who was in the room; what proposals did the energy industry executives and lobbyists make; what documents did the energy industry submit; and what Task Force documents did they review.

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