A U.S. District Judge has issued an order requiring the White House to explain why it believes there is justification to withhold minutes of the meetings of Vice President Cheney’s National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG). The ruling comes in the case of Judicial Watch v. National Energy Policy Development Group, which is just one effort by Congress and outside parties to force the White House to reveal who said what to whom during the energy task force meetings.

Judicial Watch, a self-proclaimed “government watchdog” organization, is demanding minutes of the NEPDG meetings. To date, the White House has resisted providing such detailed information to either Congressional committees or outside parties on the grounds that Executive Branch employees have a Constitutional right to obtain candid and confidential information from advisors. In a ruling issued on January 31, 2002, Judge Emmet Sullivan determined that the White House must defend its claim that revealing the information requested would somehow violate the Constitution. A hearing is scheduled for February 12, 2002. The U.S. Comptroller General has indicated that he also will file a lawsuit against the Vice President, but has not done so at this time.

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