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Government Uncovered! Freedom of Information Equals Freedom From Corruption In this issue, JW Verdict focuses on Judicial Watch’s case against Vice President Cheney’s Energy Task Force. Much like Hillary Clinton did with her Healthcare Task Force in the early 1990s, the Vice President held closed-door, secret meetings with special interest groups in order to develop national policy. Through its actions in court, Judicial Watch has secured the release of thousands of documents from the Task Force, including a February 5, 2001 letter from Chevron CEO David O’Reilly, in which he attempts to push President Bush to lift trade sanctions against terrorist nations in order to open up markets for his company. Key excerpts from a letter to President Bush: "You have my commitment that we will provide Chevron’s ideas on how to define the energy problem facing the U.S. and how to craft a U.S. energy policy." "In brief, I recommend the following. Oppose any attempt to reinstate the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) which sunsets on August 5, 2001, and consider lifting or modifying the current Executive order that prohibits U.S. companies from doing business with Iran. We urge your administration to support U.S. based companies efforts to expand and diversify the supply of energy throughout the world. This includes your support for eliminating ineffective, unilateral trade sanctions and promoting open trading relationships." Relevance The Iran-Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 was an attempt to punish two members of what President Bush now calls the "Axis of Evil," Libya and Iran. The purpose was to limit the flow of resources to two nations who are in the market for weapons of mass destruction and to pressure Libya to extradite suspects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. This letter is a clear attempt by the Chevron Corporation to pressure the Bush Administration to lift these sanctions. In so doing, Chevron is, in effect, advocating a national energy policy to do business with terrorist nations by day, even as these nations support those who turn around and launch attacks on U.S. citizens by night, just as long as the company makes a tidy profit in the meanwhile. Incidentally, multiple media sources have reported that Chevron donated more than $780,000 to President Bush¹s and Vice President Cheney’s 2000 campaign.
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