WASHINGTON (AP) -- Judges on a federal appeals court have expressed doubts that the Bush administration could be required to reveal secret details about Vice President Dick Cheney's 2001 energy policy task force and the contacts it had with industry lobbyists.
Many of the eight judges hearing the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said they were skeptical, in light of a Supreme Court ruling last June, that two public interest groups had any legal basis to review the task force records.
Among the doubters were Judges Harry Edwards and David Tatel, who favored disclosure when the same case was before the court two years ago.
The lawsuit, filed by the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, alleges that participants from industry effectively became members of the task force formulating the White House's industry-friendly recommendations, while environmental groups and others were shut out of the meetings.
During arguments Thursday, Edwards noted that the vice president's office already has filed an affidavit stating that no industry officials attended formal meetings or helped draft recommendations. A similar statement was sent to the Government Accountability Office, Congress' auditing arm, which tried to investigate the task force.
"They have said the committees don't exist as you think they do," said Edwards, a Carter-era appointee. "Isn't that the end of the case?"
Judicial Watch lawyer Paul Orfanedes said the group needed more documents to verify the claim. "We need to know the scope of participation of the private parties," Orfanedes said.
'Not ordinary litigation'
Tatel, an appointee of President Clinton, said Orfanedes was ignoring the Supreme Court's decision, which requires courts to be more sensitive about demanding too much information from internal White House deliberations.
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