WASHINGTON - February 20 - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has sued the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today for its failure to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records related to global warming science and policy. CREW filed its FOIA request after media reports -- including a 60 Minutes piece -- and documents gathered by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed that political appointees at CEQ, including former Chief of Staff Philip Cooney, edited various government reports to downplay and obscure scientific findings about global warming.

On May 12, 2006, CREW sent a FOIA request to CEQ asking for all records in the agency’s possession mentioning or relating to the causes associated with global warming or climate change.

In late October, 2006, CREW agreed to accept documents from CEQ on a rolling basis, along with an accounting of all documents redacted or withheld by CEQ. Since that time, the records CEQ has provided to CREW have consisted almost exclusively of publicly available documents. To date, CREW has not received any information from CEQ regarding the substance of any Bush administration global warming reports.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said today, “Despite claiming that it would comply with the Freedom of Information Act, CEQ has instead kept potentially explosive documents hidden from public view, leaving CREW with no option other than to sue.” Sloan continued, “Luckily for the American public, the Bush administration must abide by the law whether or not it is politically expedient.”

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