A federal judge has ruled that Vice President Dick Cheney must turn over documents detailing whom he met with last year in forming the administration’s energy policy–specifics sought by special-interest groups that contend industry heavily influenced plans for more oil and gas drilling and a revived nuclear power program.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, in a ruling made late Tuesday and released Wednesday, gave the vice president two weeks to release the documents or more clearly explain why they should be withheld from public inspection.
Jennifer Millerwise, a spokeswoman for the vice president, said his office would have no comment on the ruling and referred the matter to the Justice Department. Justice officials could not be reached for comment. However, the administration is expected to appeal the decision.
The lawsuit was filed by the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, urging full disclosure of who met with the vice president and how they may have influenced his secretive energy task force in spring 2001.
