"The Bush Administration will have to answer some tough questions," said David Bookbinder, senior attorney for the Sierra Club. "President Bush is touting a plan to weaken clean air standards for power plants and he's still pushing for the failed energy bill which was largely inspired by these secret meetings. The public deserves to know who actually wrote these plans."

In July, a three judge panel of the Court of Appeals said the Bush Administration is subject to "discovery," and must comply with requests for information from Sierra Club and Judicial Watch about the Cheney Energy Task Force. These groups are suing the Administration to shed light on how much influence polluting industries had over the Administration's destructive energy policy that is the basis for the energy bill. In rejecting the government's arguments, the Court noted that the Administration's position would "transform executive privilege from a doctrine designed to protect presidential communications into virtual immunity from suit."

The Bush Administration attempted to further delay releasing information about the secret meetings by asking for a rehearing of the appeal by the entire court. The Court of Appeals denied their request. The Bush Administration then asked Supreme Court to hear their appeal.

"We're seeking to hold the Bush Administration accountable for shutting the public out. The American people have already waited far too long to find out exactly how energy industries influenced our national energy policy," said Bookbinder. "We think the Supreme Court could have rejected the Administration's arguments out of hand but their taking of the case will draw attention to the extreme positions the Bush administration has taken, essentially arguing that they are above the law and immune from the courts."

Sierra Club is suing Vice President Cheney and the Energy Task Force under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), seeking an accounting of energy industry participation in crafting the Bush Administration's destructive energy policy, which relies on subsidies to polluting and outdated fossil fuel industries. The District Court ordered the Administration to provide information about participation from these industries, which the Bush Administration refused to do, claiming Constitutional immunity from such inquiries. The District Court rejected that contention, pointing out that the Administration was attempting to "cloak what is tantamount to an aggrandizement of Executive power with the legitimacy of precedent where none exists." The Administration appealed, asking the D.C. Circuit to make new law that would effectively shield it from any legal scrutiny. The Circuit Court, Appeals Court and Supreme Court have now all denied their request.