Documents Related to Cheney Case Ordered Released

[mia]

Reuters: Thu Apr 1, 2004 02:25 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge ordered several government agencies to release documents related to an energy policy task force led by Vice President Dick Cheney....

The environmental group Sierra Club and Judicial Watch sued in 2001 to find out the names and positions of members of the energy task force led by the vice president that year. They alleged that Cheney, a former energy company executive, drafted energy policy by consulting industry executives.

[Beetwasher]

1. Sweet!

Run for your shelter Dickie boy!

[bearfan454]

2. I bet they still won't.

These crooks feel they are above the law.

[indepat]

18. They are not above the law: they are the law

[maddezmom]

3. drip, drip, drip

everyday a little more comes to light.

[aquart]

4. Oh, my goodness.

And they haven't been shredded?

[damnraddem]

12. The court just ordered their release.

Their condition may be a different matter. ;-)

[aquart]

5. Wait. isn't this going to the Supremes?

Now I'm confused. Help me.

[Robbien]

13. There are two cases

The cases are the same but the Sierra one is further along. In that case the Feds already told Cheney to release the papers and Cheney has appealed to the Supremes. This second case is only at the Fed level. This second ruling by the Feds is the same as the first. Now Cheney has to go duck hunting with Scalia again asking Scalia to review the Fed ruling on this second case.

"Quack, Quack", says Scalia, will do.

[dArKeR]

6. 2001 Energy Task Force. 2001 9/11. Why no complaints that is takes

3 years to accomplish things in the aWol Adm? Why does it take 3 years to get a 9/11 report? Where is our responsive on the ball Bush Gov?

[OhioArtist]

7. Infuriating...

that this is still going on. It's been over 3 friggin years!

[pinniped]

8. Somone playing an April Fool's Day joke again?

CBS Marketwatch played one already.

I've already been tricked on the chimpy 5 debate appearances and the New Kids on the Block reunion.

And ya, what happened to that scumbag scalia and his cronies?

[Drifter]

9. I think when it becomes ...

obvious that Iraq was target #1 even before boy blunder took power, there will be an investigation into why we went into Iraq.

When that happens, Watergate will seem like a minor offense.

You know, it really won't matter who wins the election in Nov. If by some other act against Democracy, AWOL becomes pResident again, he will be impeached for lying us into a war.

There should be 2 investigations in play right NOW.

1) pre-9/11 failures. Why did AWOL give the bin Ladens a green light.
2) post-9/11 failures. Why did AWOL lie us into a war.

Cheers
Drifter

[sam sarrha]

10. will he do it???

[mia]

11. The Bill that Industry Bought

Billions given avay in tax breaks...


With over 43% of the subsidies in this bill going to this industry, oil and gas companies are the clear winners on the energy bill. This includes $18 billion in loan guarantees for a natural gas pipeline in Alaska, $3 billion in research and development, $4 billion in cleanup of MTBE sites, and billions more in tax breaks....

[Robbien]

14. There is real danger here

Not just to Cheney and his secret energy committee, but for all future WH activities. According to Findlaw, if Cheney wins the appeal:

Any action by Congress or the Judiciary that intrudes on the president's ability to recommend legislation to Congress or get advice from Cabinet members in any way would necessarily violate the Constitution. The Freedom of Information Act and other open government laws would therefore constitute an unconstitutional interference with Executive authority. Any action by a court or Congress that infringes on any other Article II power of the President, for example, the President's role as Commander in Chief of the armed forces and the national security concerns that derive from that role, would violate the Constitution. Any congressional or judicial ruling that infringes on the President's role in foreign affairs, would violate the Constitution.

So, any questioning whatsoever of the President and his men will be violations of the constitution if Cheney wins his appeal.

[mia]

15. A Closer Look At The Case From Which Justice Scalia Has Refused To Recuse

The Momentous Stakes, and the Larger Political Context
By JOHN W. DEAN
----
Friday, Mar. 26, 2004

This is a case to be watched -- and not only because the stakes are momentous. This case also has s political implications for an election year. If the Court decides against Cheney, what really went on in those Energy Group meetings could be exposed -- and it probably won't be pretty.

On the other hand, if the Court decides in Cheney's favor, John Kerry will have a powerful argument as to why it is time to stop stocking the federal judiciary with ideologues. It is moderates with bipartisan support, such as Judge Sullivan, who will come to right and reasonable rulings -- not mavericks like Justice Scalia.

[0007]

16. Will Cheney arrange a squirrel hunting trip with Judge Paul Friedman

Just kidding we all know Cheney would never do that, I mean go squirrel hunting with a low level Judge. This case will go to the Supreme Court also, so it looks like Scalia and Cheney will be hunting again soon.

[knight_of_the_star]

17. Woot woot woot!

Looks like the lid is about to be blown off of this little bunch of fools.

[Eye and Monkey]

19. bump

[mia]

20. Update: Energy Task Force Data Not Private

Some clarification about the 2 Cheney cases...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43150-2004Apr1.html

Agencies Ordered to Release Papers
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 2, 2004; Page A23

A federal judge yesterday ordered several federal government agencies to release documents concerning their work on Vice President Cheney's energy task force or provide a legal reason for withholding them.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman rejected arguments by Bush administration lawyers that employees from the Department of the Interior and Department of Energy can claim special confidentiality privileges for the period when they worked for the task force, which held private meetings with energy industry representatives as it crafted a national energy policy.

Ruling that those employees were not engaged in a deliberative process and were not temporary employees of the White House, Friedman said the agencies must search for and produce records of their employees' task force assignments.

The judge's order, which requires release of documents by June 1, could potentially open a new window into the workings of Cheney's task force. In a related 2001 case, the Justice Department has four times appealed federal court rulings that the vice president release task force records. That case, in which Cheney claims his office has executive privilege, is now pending before the Supreme Court.

In this case, however, Friedman's decision means that the records of even the task force's director, Energy Department employee Andrew Lundquist, should generally be made public.

The National Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, and Judicial Watch, a government watchdog organization, have been trying for three years to obtain the records....