• The U.S. comptroller general said the General Accounting Office will resort to filing a lawsuit -- its first ever against a federal official -- because the White House refused to disclose the names of industry executives advising the task force.

The U.S. comptroller general announced Jan. 30 that the General Accounting Office will go to federal court to secure records from the National Energy Policy Development Group chaired by Vice President Richard Cheney.

The lawsuit will be the first ever filed by the GAO against a federal official, which serves as the audit and investigatory arm of Congress.

Among the records GAO seeks are those identifying industry executives -- including those from the now-bankrupt industry giant Enron -- who advised the task force on what the administration's energy policies should be.

Ari Fleischer, press secretary to the White House, said President Bush "will stand strong on principle, fighting for his right and the right of all future Presidents to receive advice without it being turned into a virtual news release."

Fleischer said at a press conference that the administration will argue in court that the GAO is acting outside its authority by suing for the documents. But he said the administration won't assert executive privilege to protect the records.

"There's no need to exert the privilege," Fleischer said.

However, Bush told reporters on Jan. 28 that "we're not going to let the ability for us to discuss matters between ourselves to become eroded. It's not only important for this administration, it's an important principle for future administrations."

David Walker, the comptroller general, said in his announcement that, despite GAO's efforts to obtain documents about the task force since July, the vice president and other officials refuse to provide records. These records would allow the auditing agency to assist Congress in its consideration of "comprehensive energy legislation" and "ongoing oversight activities," Walker said.

In mid-August, Walker submitted a report to Congress on the GAO's inability to get the records. The report was done at the request of Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and John Dingell (D-Mich.) following their inability to get the information from Cheney or other officials.

Among its concerns, GAO was interested in knowing who served on the task force. Such advisory groups, which include persons from outside government, are generally subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the act's requirements that meetings and records be open.

Since the August report, White House officials said only federal government officials served on the task force. However, Cheney said the task force interviewed representatives of industry and of environmental groups in formulating its advice.

-- RD

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