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JW Earns Another Victory Against Energy Task Force Vice President Cheney's Legal Team Vows to Take JW Case to Supreme Court On September 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a Bush Administration request for a rehearing of Judicial Watch's case against Vice President Cheney's Energy Task Force. This decision -- the latest in a string of victories for Judicial Watch -- now sets the stage for a dramatic, last ditch attempt by White House lawyers to bring the case to the United States Supreme Court. "This is a battle the Bush Administration cannot and will not win," said JW President Tom Fitton. "It was wrong and illegal in 1993 when Hillary Clinton plotted a government takeover of our healthcare system behind closed doors. And it's wrong and illegal now for the Vice President to craft energy policy behind closed doors. No one is above the law. Not even the Vice President of the United States." Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a decision by the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan, ordering the Vice President to turn over documents to Judicial Watch pertaining to his Energy Task Force - an "invitation only," covert group assembled by the Vice President to develop the nation's energy policy. The court ruled that White House lawyers had no basis to appeal a case that was still pending before Judge Sullivan. The Bush Administration had requested that the full appellate court hear its case. That request was denied in a 5-3 vote. In the wake of its latest legal loss, the Bush Administration now has two options: turn over documents, or try to take its case to the Supreme Court. According to the Washington Post, legal scholars believe "the chances of the Supreme Court granting the petition for hearing are considered very slim." "There is nowhere left to hide," continued Fitton. "It's time for the Vice President to stop stonewalling and cooperate with court orders." Judicial Watch lawyers stand ready to argue this case before the Supreme Court if need be. Judicial Watch sued the Energy Taskforce in 2001 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (open meetings law), which requires that policy meetings between special interests and government officials be subject to public scrutiny. Judicial Watch seeks information pertaining to the identities of the task force participants and how the task force operated.
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