FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24 , 2004 CONTACT:
David Willett 202-675-6698

Supreme Court Rejects Cheney's Right to Secrecy

But Public Remains in the Dark about Task Force Meetings for Now

Washington, DC: The Supreme Court today rejected the Bush
Administration's argument that it has a constitutional right to keep
the workings of the Cheney Energy Task Force secret. The Court
refused to rule on whether Vice President Cheney must produce
documents in Sierra Club's suit and sent the case back to the Court
of Appeals.

"The Supreme Court is essentially ducking the issue by sending it
back to a lower court. This ruling means that for now the public
will remain in the dark about the Bush Administration and energy
industry executives' secret meetings about national energy policy,"
said David Bookbinder, Sierra Club's Washington Legal Director. "The
Bush Administration's obsession with secrecy has already led to a
polluting energy policy that will harm Americans' health safety and
the places they treasure."

Instead of focusing on common sense solutions and technology, the
Bush Administration's policy puts vital clean air and clean water
protections are risk while threatening special places like America's
coasts, the Rockies, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"The Bush Administration can not use this court ruling to say that
their offices are open to polluting corporations, but not the
public," said Bookbinder. "The Court affirmed that the Bush
Administration and Vice President Cheney are not above the law."

Aside from this particular case, the Cheney Task Force's secret
agenda also lives on in the form of a polluting energy bill promoted
by the Bush Administration. At a time when gas prices are at an all
time high, it's more important than ever to create an energy policy
that reduces our oil dependence and protects consumers and our
health and safety.

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More information available at
http://www.sierraclub.org/environmentallaw/

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