June 26, 2004
Cheney Papers
In a discussion with Sierra Club counsel, David Bookbinder, that aired June 24, 2004 at 5:12 PM ET, Judge Andrew Napolitano split legal hairs over the Supreme Court's recent decision that seems to favor Vice President Cheney.
The case was brought by the Sierra Club and involved a petition to compel the Vice President to reveal the names and records of all who participated in the V-P's Energy Task Force.
In a 7-2 decision, with Justices Scalia and Thomas dissenting, the Court refused the Vice-President's petition to dismiss the case, returning it, instead, to the lower appeals court with the admonition that that court must make all findings of fact.
Napolitano argued the RNC spin view, that this was a victory for Cheney, claiming that the Supreme Court confirmed that Cheney did not have to turn over documents or name names.
Bookbinder disagreed, noting that Napolitano was reading the decision incorrectly. The Court actually voted that the lower Court of Appeals was empowered to make any and all decisions regarding these issues.
Comment: The lower court may yet compel Cheney's cooperation. There is a law that requires federal advisory committees to represent ALL viewpoints in any discussion involving national policy and that the public is entitled to know who was present. The Sierra Club suspects that only large energy conglomerates were present at the original meeting, which would be a violation of federal law.
Cheney's actual "win" is that the election will be over before the lower court makes its final decision. Hopefully, by that time, he won't be our Vice-President any longer!
