Advertisement

Judicial Watch rips court decision

WASHINGTON, May 10 (UPI) -- Judicial Watch blasted a decision Tuesday by a Washington appeals court allowing records of the national energy policy board to remain secret.

The public interest law organization was one of two challengers contending the presence of energy lobbyists and officials at meetings of the National Energy Policy Development Group meant the records should be made public under law.

Advertisement

The policy group was headed by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said: "The court's ruling is without any basis in the context of the open meetings law and is contrary to the intent of the law. Further, it means that, going forward, the public will simply have to take the word of the government that no outsiders are improperly influencing the decisions of their government.

"The American people have a right to know whether lobbyists became de facto members of the Energy Task Force, which helped to write our nation's energy policies," he added. "Today's decision means that now the public may never know the truth about how these policies were formulated."

Latest Headlines