| For Immediate Release Dec 11, 2002 |
Contact: Press Office 202-646-5188 |
JUDICIAL WATCH SEEKS TO PROCEED WITH DISCOVERY OF KENNETH LAY AND OTHERS WHEN: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2002 10:00AM ET WHERE: FEDERAL COURTHOUSE (THIRD AND CONSTITUTION AVE., NW) WHO: THE HONORABLE EMMET G. SULLIVAN Press Conference to Follow on Courthouse Steps (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, will appear in federal court Thursday, December 12, 2002 at 10am ET in Courtroom One for a hearing in its lawsuit against Vice president Cheney’s Energy Task Force. Judicial Watch, along with its co-plaintiff, the Sierra Club, is seeking to proceed with discovery in the lawsuit. Monday’s federal court ruling that the General Accounting Office (GAO) has no standing to sue Vice President Cheney’s Energy Task Force does not effect Judicial Watch’s ongoing lawsuit against the Task Force. Unlike the GAO lawsuit, Judicial Watch’s legal action survived a motion to dismiss and is in the midst of discovery. The Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan scheduled Thursday’s hearing to decide how discovery can proceed in the case Judicial Watch was forced to file a lawsuit last year under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, an open meetings law, after it was rebuffed in its requests for information on the Task Force by Vice President Cheney. 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 is seeking the testimony of individuals alleged to be active participants in the Energy Task Force, such as former Enron chief Kenneth Lay. “We hope and expect that Judge Sullivan will allow Mr. Lay and other participants involved in the Task Force to answer questions under oath. The Vice President will not escape scrutiny,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. | |