GAO DROPS LAWSUIT AGAINST CHENEY ENERGY TASK FORCE
Judicial Watch Lawsuit Stands as the Only Legal Action Between Vice President Cheney and Energy Task Force Cover-up
(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government abuse and corruption, said today that its lawsuit against Vice President Cheney’s National Energy Policy Development Group, also known as the Cheney Energy Task Force, will continue despite a decision by the General Accounting Office (GAO) to drop their lawsuit against the task force. The GAO decision has no bearing whatsoever on the Judicial Watch lawsuit. Judicial Watch sued the Cheney Energy Task Force when it refused to comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (an open meetings law) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The case is before The Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, has decided not to appeal a federal judge's dismissal of its lawsuit seeking records of Vice President Cheney's Energy Task Force. The lawsuit pitted the legislative and executive branches of government against each other before the federal judiciary. The GAO lawsuit had sought to force the release of the names of energy industry executives and lobbyists who were consulted in developing the White House's energy policy in 2001. The GAO lawsuit was dismissed on December 9, 2002 by U.S. District Court Judge John Bates.
Judicial Watch has consistently won every legal step in its on-going litigation against the Cheney Energy Task Force. Judicial Watch has been seeking Cheney Energy Task Force records since April 19, 2001, and was forced to file a lawsuit on July 16, 2001, after Bush-Cheney administration stonewalling. Several months later, the Energy Task Force was also sued by the Sierra Club, which is now a co-plaintiff in Judicial Watch’s lawsuit. Judicial Watch has elected to take a comprehensive and aggressive approach in uncovering both the energy industry and environmentalist lobbyists who were busy attempting to influence the Bush-Cheney administration.
“With the impending invasion of Iraq, the very serious matters before the court take on even greater relevance, given that Vice President Cheney was developing our nation’s energy policy with industry executives and lobbyists in secret. Perhaps the Cheney Task Force records will help explain why only certain countries seem to be ‘off limits’ in this growing international crisis. The American people deserve straight answers and accountability from their government, not secrecy, closed-door meetings and cover-ups,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.
