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Court Order on Cheney Energy Task Force" is to be
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For Immediate Release
September 4, 2002

Contact:
Nathaniel Garrett, (415) 977-5627


  Vice President Cheney Again Refuses to Release Information about Cheney
                             Energy Task Force
  Administration May Have Violated Court Order

Washington, DC:  The Vice President has once again refused to provide any
information about the role and influence CEOs of polluting energy companies
like Enron had in the Energy Task Force. The Sierra Club and Judicial Watch
have sued the Vice President and other Administration officials,
challenging the Administration's attempts to keep Energy Task Force
meetings with energy industry executives secret.

"The American people are still waiting to find out what happened behind
closed doors when the Administration met with polluting energy companies to
form the nation's energy policy," said Carl Pope, Executive Director of the
Sierra Club.   "As long as the Vice President continues to withhold
information, the public will remain in the dark about how much influence
these industries had in crafting  our energy policy."

In response to a federal court order and a September 3 deadline, the
Administration yesterday did release some information from federal agencies
(much of it already made public), but they continued their refusal to
disclose any information regarding the Vice-President.   The Administration
instead filed a motion with the court seeking to insulate the Vice
President entirely from any discovery of information.  The Administration
also took the unprecedented position of seeking to insulate entirely from
discovery lower-level staffers in the Administration. Through their
lawyers, they argued that the executive privileges of their office apply,
not only to information in their possession, but also to information known
or in the possession of lower-level officials such as defendants Andrew
Lundquist, Executive Director of the Cheney Energy Task Force and an Energy
Department employee; Larry Lindsey, Assistant to the President; and Joshua
Bolton, Assistant to the President.

The Sierra Club also believes that the Administration violated the order of
federal judge Emmet G. Sullivan by failing to provide "detailed and precise
objections to particular requests"  for information.  The judge had
specifically ordered the Administration not to make a blanket objection
based on "general invocations of privilege."  [Order of Judge Emmet
Sullivan, Aug. 2, 2002]

"The public deserves to know how critical policy that affects our health
and safety, our energy needs and our economy was developed, and it's wrong
for Vice President Cheney to continue to hide this information," said Pope.

In May, Vice President Cheney and other Administration Officials were
rebuffed by Judge Emmet Sullivan, who ruled from the bench against their
motions to dismiss the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch lawsuits.  In August,
Judge Sullivan again rejected government arguments and approved in full the
"discovery plan" for information prepared by the Sierra Club and Judicial
Watch.

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.

###


Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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