SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
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GAO chief accuses Bush and Cheney of misleading public
Saturday, February 9, 2002

By MARK HELM
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- As his agency prepares to sue the White House over the release of disputed documents, David Walker, head of the General Accounting Office, accused administration officials yesterday of misleading the public on the issue.

Last week the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, announced it will sue to obtain information about meetings between Vice President Dick Cheney, chairman of President Bush's energy policy task force, and officials of Enron Corp. and other companies.

Walker told reporters that both Bush and Cheney have incorrectly stated that the GAO is seeking the notes and minutes of those meetings.

He insisted that his agency wants only the dates and subjects of each meeting and the names of those present at the sessions that were convened to help the administration formulate an energy policy.

"We're not asking for the staff notes," Walker said.

Asked why Bush and Cheney had stated that the GAO wants the substance of the energy task force's discussions, Walker said: "I think it's because they've been poorly briefed by their staff. I do not believe that those individuals would knowingly misstate the facts."

Walker said some administration staff members had purposely misrepresented the GAO's demands even after the agency sent the White House a letter detailing them on Jan 30.

"I do know, however, that there are a number of staffers who in fact, on multiple occasions, including after we've sent the letter out, have (misstated facts)," he said. "Maybe they think it looks better for them."

Walker said the Jan. 30 letter informing the administration that the agency was preparing to sue clearly states that the GAO is "not seeking the minutes of these meetings or related notes of the vice president's staff."

Cheney, who has acknowledged meeting with executives of Enron, the now bankrupt energy trading company, six times last year, has said he won't release the information sought by the GAO because such disclosures would damage his and the president's ability to seek candid, confidential advice.

Cheney also has acknowledged that he met with Enron's then-chairman, Kenneth Lay, in April. White House officials said Lay gave Cheney a three-page document arguing against federal caps on electricity prices.

Last week Mary Matalin, counselor to Cheney, dismissed the significance of the document, saying that nine of Lay's 11 suggestions in the memo were not included in the White House energy plan.

Anticipating a court battle, Bush said last month, "Bring it on."

Cheney's staff failed to return several phone calls requesting comment yesterday.

Walker did not reveal when the suit would be filed but said the GAO will wait at least until he returns from a trip to New Zealand on Feb. 18. The lawsuit is expected to be filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Walker said he hoped a compromise could be reached but that no negotiations were in progress between GAO officials and the White House. "I'm not happy that we are where we are," he said.

Early last year Cheney's energy policy task force received advice for two months from representatives of the coal, oil, nuclear and electricity industries.

According to Walker, the GAO's initial investigation was prompted in April 2001 by Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman of California and John Dingell of Michigan, who wanted to know if the task force met with Bush's big campaign contributors as it developed the national energy policy.

Waxman and Dingell wrote the GAO last month urging it to go to court. They said that "the need to obtain the information we requested has only increased over time."


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