- WASHINGTON (UPI) - The
conservative
watchdog group Judicial Watch said Tuesday that more than 25,000 documents
were missing from the thousands released by the Bush administration under
a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on deliberations
between Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force and industry
executives.
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- Larry Klayman, attorney for Judicial Watch, told
reporters
during an news conference the organization would return to court on May
2 and ask a judge to give them the ability to question Bush administration
officials about what information was missing from the 11,000 pages of
documents
it did release and to seek the disclosure of additional documents from
the White House.
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- Papers released under the court order were from the
Department
of Energy, White House Office of Budget and Management, Department of
Agriculture,
and the Environmental Protection Agency.
-
- Judicial Watch said about 15,000 documents from the
Energy
Department were missing and another 10,000 from the EPA were also missing.
They said they have received none of the requested documents from the
Department
of Treasury or the Department of Commerce.
-
- White House officials called the May 2 hearing a
"follow-up"
hearing and said they were unaware that Judicial Watch planned to seek
additional documents.
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- Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said the released
information
would only further confirm that the energy plan was a balanced plan and
included all viewpoints.
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- "It assures the American people that it was an open
and appropriate process. Most importantly, the National Energy Policy
provides
a much-needed plan for energy security for America," Abraham
said.
-
- The agency said it sought advice from energy,
environmental
and related organizations and leading experts to incorporate policy
recommendations,
but that in some instances, some interested stakeholders did not come
forward
with recommendations.
-
- To ensure a wide diversity of views was considered, the
department solicited input and sought the advice from energy, environmental
and related organizations and leading experts to incorporate policy
recommendations.
In some instances, DOE reached out and solicited the views of interested
stakeholders that did not come forth with recommendations, Abraham
said.
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- Democrats have alleged that energy companies such as
the now-bankrupt Enron Corp. unduly influenced the task force while
ignoring
environmental groups. Judicial Watch said it appeared that Enron sought
favors from both the Clinton and Bush administrations. It suspected that
the missing documents were related to the nearly defunct energy trading
company.
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- President George W. Bush had objected to the disclosure
of communications between the White House and outside experts, considering
it an issue involving the separation of powers between the legislative
and executive branches of government. Bush said he could not get honest
feedback on issues if experts believed their discussions would be made
public.
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- Klayman called the document release important, but said
it was only one half of the story. "The public deserves full
accountability
from the vice president and his energy task force, and Judicial Watch will
continue to pursue that accounting through its other litigation under the
Federal Advisory Committee Act."
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- Klayman said the missing pages made the administration
appear suspicious and that "Until they release all the documents,
the inference is that they have something to hide."
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- On Feb. 27, a federal judge ordered the Department of
Energy to hand over thousands of documents related to meetings between
energy industry officials and Cheney's task force. District Judge Gladys
Kessler in a memo accompanying her order called the department
"woefully
tardy" in complying with the Freedom of Information Act request by
the Natural Resources Defense Council to examine the documents.
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- "It's an absolute stonewall. There is nothing in
the e-mail [copies] because they've all been redacted. I haven't seen
redaction
of this nature even in the Clinton administration," said Tom Fitton,
president of Judicial Watch, of the papers released Monday.
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- Among the documents were appointment book entries from
Joseph Kelliher, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Between April 2001 and May 2001, his schedule showed meetings with the
National Mining Association, Western Independent Refiners Association,
the Natural Petroleum Council and the National Domestic Petroleum Council,
among others.
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- "The train has left the station and I think the
destination is full disclosure," said Fitton.
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- By Tuesday afternoon the NRDC said it had reviewed only
half of the papers and was expected to make a statement on its examination
during a Wednesday press conference.
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- Cheney's task force met with Enron Corp., which last
fall collapsed and fell into bankruptcy. Kenneth Lay, then chairman of
Enron and now under public scrutiny, was the only executive to have a
private
meeting with Cheney, according to material the vice president has released
over the past year.
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- Klayman said the relationship between Bush and Lay was
so close that the president often referred to Lay as "Kenny boy."
At the time Enron officials were meeting with the Cheney task force, they
were lobbying hard to keep the federal government from placing a cap on
energy prices in California.
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- Gov. Gray Davis, D-Calif., and several Democratic members
of Congress have accused Enron of manipulating energy prices that
contributed
to California's energy crisis last spring.
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- After one meeting with an Enron official, Cheney
announced
that he would oppose caps. Several Democrats accused Cheney of succumbing
to Enron's influence at an April meeting. But the vice president's office
said Cheney and Bush had consistently opposed price caps and his position
last spring was not influenced by Enron.
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- The vice president refused to issue a detailed list of
participants in oil industry meetings and what policy positions they pushed
for in Bush's energy plan. Cheney denied anything improper took place at
meetings. He has said that he and his aides were seeking policy suggestions
from across the country.
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