Federal court dismisses GAO, Cheney suit

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A federal judge on Monday dismissed an "unprecedented" lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney, seeking the release of records from the government's energy task force, saying that the General Accounting Office has no standing under the U.S. Constitution to bring the action.

"Because the comptroller general (who runs the GAO) does not have the personal, concrete and particularized injury required ... either himself or as the agent of Congress, his complaint must be dismissed," wrote U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates. Bates said in his 43-page decision that since lawsuit did not have congressional endorsement, it "left to the realm of speculation whether there is a real need to exercise the power of judicial review."

Comptroller General David Walker filed the lawsuit in February seeking a court-ordered release of the names of individuals and corporations Cheney and his energy task force consulted during development of the administration's national energy policy.

The lawsuit followed the White House's refusal to hand over the names voluntarily.

The GAO wanted to know who the task force had met as part of an inquiry launched at the request of Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., and Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif. Both lawmakers were concerned about the "conduct and composition" of the task force and what they considered its efforts to shield "its membership and deliberations from public scrutiny," according to court documents.

The White House said that releasing the information would hamper its future decision-making processes, by making those who they might want to consult wary of giving frank advice.

Walker released a statement expressing disappointment over the ruling and said he was considering what the next step would be.

"We are in the process of reviewing and analyzing the decision to fully understand the bases for it and its potential implications," Walker said. "We will consider whether or not to appeal after we have completed this review and consulted with Congressional leadership on a bipartisan basis."

The White House said it was happy with the outcome.

"We are pleased with the court ruling. We believe it is important that the president can receive unvarnished advice in decision-making and the court has supported this," said a senior administration official.

The National Energy Policy Development Group released its report in May 2001. It called for expanded gas and oil exploration, construction of nuclear power plants, and drilling in the controversial Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Democrats questioned whether environmental groups were given a fair hearing during the task force's deliberations and how much influence energy executives had over the group's final report. The task force backed the continued use of fossil fuel, as opposed to renewable energy sources favored by the environmental lobby.

Bates wrote in his decision that the case raised "compelling statutory and constitutional questions concerning the authority of the comptroller general and the U.S. Congress to require the vice president to produce information relating to the president's decision-making on national energy policy.

"Each side casts its position in core constitutional terms invoking competing theories of the proper balance of power between the legislative and executive branches, and insists that its opponent seeks to 'work a revolution' in separation of powers principles," the decision read.

Bates went on to say that no comptroller has ever sued the executive branch, and "In that sense, this lawsuit is unprecedented."

The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch in March secured the release of more than 11,000 pages of documents detailing the group's deliberations. The pages were released under court order from the Department of Energy, White House Office of Budget and Management, Department of Agriculture, and Environmental Protection Agency. The group had initially sought the documents under a Freedom of Information Act request.