Cheney's Energy Task Force - A Question of Secrecy

[NashVegas]

Does anyone remember, or better yet, have links to stories about the Task Force's recommendations?

[cthrumatrix]

1. SCOTUS pushed the dec. back to a lower court...no dec.. yet.

[enough]

5. WaPo writer called decision "stunning" -- increases White House power

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25004-2004Jul3.html


At the Court, Inflating the White House's Power
By Joan A. Lukey
Sunday, July 4, 2004; Page B02 Washington Post

On this Fourth of July, it is somehow fitting that we are awash in a sea of important Supreme Court decisions addressing fundamental constitutional issues. Yet, the ruling that may prove to be the most critical of all seems to be garnering the least attention.

I'm referring to Cheney v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the case in which two public interest groups are striving to gain access to the records of President Bush's energy task force, chaired by Vice President Cheney. Ten days ago, the high court sent the case back to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia with instructions that essentially rewrote 50 years of judicial history.

You're probably thinking: What on earth is she talking about? In the last week and a half, we've had decisions on U.S. citizens who are considered enemy combatants and on the rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees. How could an opinion with which the justices put off making a final decision until after the presidential election possibly be so important? Well, think again. With this decision, the Supreme Court has just re-landscaped the constitutional terrain between the White House and the judiciary in a manner that seems to hand off a portion of the judiciary's power to the executive branch.

snip>

Make no mistake: The White House's assertion of executive powers in the Cheney case is novel. No previous president, when confronted with a judicial demand for documents related to a domestic issue, has ever responded with a claim of executive power. That the Supreme Court has accepted that assertion is stunning. The majority has excused the administration from complying with the only process that assures the courts the right of review when an administration refuses to honor a subpoena and has accepted the argument that the vice president was acting under his executive powers, a realm into which the judiciary cannot intrude. Against the backdrop of this decision, the question now is this: If the vice president is ordered by the lower courts to reveal documents, will the administration honor such orders?

snip> 

[Q]

2. .....

The Cheney Energy Task Force
A review and analysis of the proceedings leading to the Bush administration's formulation of its May 2001 energy policy.

In the spring of 2002, under order from a federal judge, the U.S. Department of Energy released to NRDC roughly 13,500 pages relating to previously secret proceedings of the Bush administration's energy task force. (President Bush formed the task force in early 2001 to develop a national energy policy, with Vice President Cheney at the helm.) Even though the government heavily censored the documents before supplying them to NRDC, they reveal that Bush administration officials sought extensive advice from utility companies and the oil, gas, coal and nuclear energy industries, and incorporated their recommendations, often word for word, into the energy plan. ---http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/taskforce/tfinx.asp

[bryant69]

3. You mean the official recommendations?

were those released in more than generalities?

Probably something like "We should trust those good people at Enron and Haliburton to do their jobs, and not jiggle the table while they are trying to work."

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[NashVegas]

4. Yes, Those

What I'm trying to get at is, what, if anything, is in the official release that could possibly justify keeping the roadmap of it classified.

[cthrumatrix]

6. Paul O'Neills book (Price of Loyalty) shares more about the meetings

In private it was ALL govt employees. By law this can be treated as confidential.

However, the meeting always broke for refreshments etc.... and that's when all the energy company members (enron incl) would meet with them ...and then they would go back in session.

Cheney knew the rules...and skirted the rules...the intention was the same.


Read the book...it's outstanding.