The Supreme Court’s decision in the case about Dick Cheney’s secret energy task force was, to be sure, disappointing. It wasn’t a total disaster, though, in that the case is still very much alive.
The Supreme Court refused Thursday to order the Bush administration to make public secret details of Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force, but kept the case alive by sending it back to a lower court.
Justices said 7-2 that a lower court should consider whether a federal open government law could be used to get documents of the task force.
The decision extends the legal fight over the information. Justices could have allowed a judge to immediately move ahead with ordering the release of the papers.
The truth is, this case may very well end up before the Supremes again. Today’s decision sends the controversy back to the appeals court for more deliberation. If Cheney were to lose, which seems somewhat likely considering the court’s previous ruling, he’d no doubt bring this right back to the high court.
The disappointing part is the timing. Had the justices ruled against Cheney, we would have seen all the oil executives Cheney brought in, including his buddies at Enron, to essentially write the administration’s energy policy. It would have offered some great material for a campaign commercial or two. We may still get that information, but it probably won’t be before November.
But enough about the substance. How did Scalia, who joined Cheney on a private jet to go hunting together at a private camp just three weeks before Scalia heard Cheney’s appeal, rule? How do you think?
[Scalia] joined the seven justices who agreed to send the case back for more consideration. But he and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately to say a federal court “clearly exceeded” its authority in ordering the administration to release records.
What a surprise. I’m sure no one saw that one coming.