In January 2002, Vice President Cheney refused to let a congressional oversight body see records of his Enron meetings. The records might have helped determine how much influence the company may have had over the energy policy Cheney's task force developed in 2001.
Cheney explained his refusal to publicize what took place at the meetings by saying that he and the president should be allowed to do their work in secret.
He told CNN in 2002:
"I have been in town now off-and-on for 34 years. And during that period of time, there's been a constant, steady erosion of the prerogatives and the power of the Oval Office, a continual encroachment by Congress, War Powers Act, Anti-Impoundment and Budget Control Act, previous instances where presidents have given up, if you will, important principles. So the office is weaker today than it was 30, 35 years ago."
The administration that was in office 30, 35 years ago was the Nixon administration, in which Cheney served. Watergate took place during this same period in Nixon's first term, causing Congress to later establish reforms that made it more difficult for a president to conduct politically motivated burglaries.
(Sources: "Cheney: We're keeping papers secret on principle," CNN, Jan. 29, 2002. Elisabeth Bumiller, "Enron's Many Strands: The Vice President; Cheney Is Set to Battle Congress to Keep His Enron Talks Secret," New York Times, Jan. 28, 2002. Adam Clymer, "Judge Says Cheney Needn't Give Energy Policy Records to Agency," New York Times, Dec. 2002.)
On December 10, 1985, then-Congressman Cheney voted against the Community Right to Know Act, an amendment that would require oil, chemical, and other polluting facilities to report their toxic emissions. On the same day, he voted against the Citizen's Right to Sue Polluters Act, an amendment that would allow citizens to sue in federal court if they were harmed by pollution from abandoned toxic-waste sites.
(Source:
www.commondreams.org. "Cheney Pick Would Be Threat to Environment, Supported Oil Industry on Many Issues," The Sierra Club, July 24, 2000.)
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has refused to let Congress see all the information pertaining to the Air Force's proposed lease and purchase of one hundred 767 aerial refueling tankers from Boeing Co.
The inspector general began auditing the proposed $23 billion deal when it was revealed that Air Force official Darleen Druyun helped negotiate the tanker contract while Boeing was offering her a job. Nine months later she accepted a position as deputy general manager of Boeing's missile defense systems. In April she pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for her actions.
The Congressional Budget Office found that the deal would have cost as much as $5.7 billion more than a conventional purchase.
In addition, a 2001 Air Force study found that the current fleet could last until 2040. Nevertheless, President Bush has been a strong supporter of the deal, saying "Boeing is going through a difficult period ... I do support it [the deal]."
Documents hidden from Congress include communications between the White House and the office of Management and Budget. Republican Senator John McCain said that Rumsfeld's refusal to share information will "eviscerate the responsibility of Congress to provide oversight in such matters."
(Source: Galloway, Joseph, "Rumsfeld Restricts Senate Access to Documents in Boeing Deal," Knight-Ridder Newspapers, Thursday June 3, 2004. "U.S. Air Force Ex-official Admits to Boeing Deal," Columbia Daily Tribune, April 21, 2004. "Feds Probe Boeing Deal," CBSNews, Sept. 18, 2003.)