Judges Question Bid to Stop Cheney Suit

debbie mannas · Joined: 30 Sep 2002 Posts: 1352

BEHOLD THY LEADERS!

story.news.yahoo.com/news...y_energy_5

Judges Question Bid to Stop Cheney Suit

Thu Apr 17, 6:33 PM ET

By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration ran into strong opposition in a federal appeals court Thursday as government lawyers tried to stop a lawsuit delving into Vice President Dick Cheney's contacts with energy industry executives and lobbyists.

AP Photo

Appeals judges Harry Edwards and David Tatel suggested the White House had no legal basis for asking them to block a lower court judge from letting the case proceed.

"You have no authority" to ask the appeals court to intervene, Edwards told a government attorney during arguments. He added later, "You have no case."

The appeals judges gave no indication when they would issue a ruling. The administration has taken the unusual step of coming to the appeals court in the midst of the case.

Federal agencies have disclosed 39,000 pages of internal documents related to the work of Cheney's energy task force, which itself has produced nothing, claiming the need for confidential advice to the president from his top advisers.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has ruled that the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch may be entitled to a limited amount of information about the meetings that Cheney and his aides had with the energy industry in formulating the White House's energy plan.

The plan, adopted four months after President Bush took office, favored opening up public lands to oil and gas drilling and a wide range of other steps backed by industry.

The few meetings the Bush White House has acknowledged having relating to the work of Cheney's task force were those with Enron Corp. executives. Company representatives met six times with Cheney or his aides on the nation's energy policy, including a half-hour discussion between the vice president and then-Enron chairman Ken Lay. After meeting with Lay, Cheney said the administration would not support price caps on wholesale energy sales in California.

Edwards, a Carter-era appointee, and Tatel, an appointee of President Clinton, said the administration has failed to show that it is suffering legal harm at the hands of the lower court.

The third member of the panel, Appeals Judge A. Raymond Randolph, expressed doubt that the Cheney task force is required under the law to disclose information about its inner workings. However, Randolph, an appointee of Bush's father, questioned whether the administration should be seeking appeals court intervention.

Tatel and Edwards pressed the government on why it hadn't sought to narrow the scope of information requests rather than simply trying to block them altogether.

The government's position is that the current record in the case is sufficient.

The administration says it has demonstrated that the makeup of the task force was limited to government officials. But the groups that are suing allege that participants from industry effectively became members of the task force in assembling the White House's energy policy.

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

Quote:
Edwards, a Carter-era appointee, and Tatel, an appointee of President Clinton, said the administration has failed to show that it is suffering legal harm at the hands of the lower court.

That explains that. Next.

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

I'll do you one better. The company that has the sole rights to put out the oil fires started in Iraq is owned by Cheney. I don't believe in coincidences. While I still believe going into Iraq was the right thing to do, businessmen will tend to act like vultures at a dying carcass. In other words, businessmen will act like businessmen. Nothing shocking here.

debbie mannas · Joined: 30 Sep 2002 Posts: 1352

The US was also doing business in Iraq. So much business they decided to help Saddam get into power.

First Halibuton...

now Bechtel has landed a 35million dollar contract.

Wonder which US multinational with contacts in Washington it will be tomorrow...

the whole sorry Iraq situation reeks.

I'm also betting that the Iraqi artifacts are going to make a few powerful people very rich. Apparently the looting was planned by professionals. It seems very strange that people in Washington were advised about the value of these things but did nothing to prevent them being stolen. I mean, these guys are not naive, are they?

And if even after all this people will not accept the REAL reasons behind the invasion... :seismo

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

Quote:
And if even after all this people will not accept the REAL reasons behind the invasion.

We each have our own REAL reasons, and all the headbangin' in the world ain't gonna change that. Knock yourself out.

And while we're betting, I'll bet France, Germany, and Russia will be eagerly jumpin' on that Reconstruction Gravy Train ASAP; they'll vote to lift sanctions only when they are allowed to ride. True Capitalists after all.

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

Seismic is right. Everyone is getting in on this one....it's as if some people are wearing blinders that only allow themselves to see America as the one big bad guy.

If you read history Debbie, you'll see that there have to be many conditions that are satisfied before America (or any country) will go to war. Why can you only see the one that makes you angry?

Phil Frazier · Joined: 04 Aug 2002 Posts: 823

"I'll bet France, Germany, and Russia will be eagerly jumpin' on that Reconstruction Gravy Train ASAP; they'll vote to lift sanctions only when they are allowed to ride. True Capitalists after all."

Agree 100%. I don't know where any doubt of that was.

What makes me angry is the lies that the US Govt, specificaly GWB, Cheney, Rummy, even Colon spew at the American people.

Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Liberation.

WMD.

Link to 911.

Democracy.

I resent being told these lies. :cowboy

debbie mannas · Joined: 30 Sep 2002 Posts: 1352

And all the other countries didn't start a war to get rich. At least not this time.

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

And if a 6 turned out to be a 9, I wouldn't mind. At least not this time.

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

No, nobody started the war to get rich......but many countries, including those mentioned, were cashing in by selling weapons of all types to Saddam. Somebody, other than the US, has been getting rich for quite awhile now.

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

Quote:
Somebody, other than the US, has been getting rich for quite awhile now.

IF they are lucky enough to collect their accounts receivable....

Saddam's debts to:

Russia - 12 Billion US

France - 8 Billion US

Germany - 6 Billion US

...since the 1991 "War", all work done mostly in violation of UN sanction guidelines, i.e., Bunkers, Tunnels, Loveshacks, etc.

WOW...is this why they opposed the "New War"...YA THINK??

Oh, well; new contracts for lifting sanctions...that's their Ace in tha Hole.

Excellent point, DT.