GAO Sues Cheney Over Energy Records

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GAO Sues Cheney Over Energy Records

WASHINGTON -- The General Accounting Office (GAO) filed suit against Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday in a much-anticipated and unprecedented effort to gain access to energy records, The Associated Press reported.

The action is being taken to force the release of names of Enron and other industry figures who met with Cheney's energy task force.

Comptroller General David Walker, the head of the General Accounting Office, has been trying to get the information since April and has threatened since August to sue. The White House has resisted the demands and promised to "defend our principles."

The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court, marked the first time in the GAO's 81-year history as Congress' investigative arm that it went to court to force an executive branch official or agency to release documents.

"We take this step reluctantly," Walker said. "Nevertheless, given GAO's responsibility to Congress and the American people, we have no other choice. Now that the matter has been submitted to the judicial branch, we are hopeful that the litigation will be resolved expeditiously."

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff