Appeals Court Dismisses Cheney Task Force Suit

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A federal appeals court has tossed a lawsuit aimed at forcing Vice President Dick Cheney to reveal the participation of industry officials on his energy policy task force. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch failed to prove the industry representatives served in any policymaking role. That would have required the records to be released. As long as the task force was strictly government employees, Justice Department lawyer Paul Clement argued, forcing the White House to produce task force information would be an “unconstitutional and unwarranted intrusion on the executive branch and its internal functions.” (5/10/05)