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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2002

The Bush administration's battle to keep executive communications secret looks a lot like other constitutional and political disputes, says Charles Lane of The Washington Post.

Whether it's President Richard Nixon's Watergate tapes, former First Lady Hillary Clinton's health care panel or Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force, there are a lot of similarities, Lane writes in his analysis of the current dispute. But neither Congress nor the White House have played their full hand yet, he observes, noting that lawmakers haven't subpoenaed the energy documents they seek and the White House hasn't used the words "executive privilege" yet.

What makes the situation different, though, is the serious consideration of a lawsuit. The General Accounting Office is set to decide this week whether it will sue Cheney to get the desired information, which consists of dates of meetings, names of those who attended and general topics of the discussions.

Republicans in the House are backing the White House. But some in the Senate say the administration should make public some of the information.

Get the Story:
Bush says he won't disclose to Congress his consultations with business executives on energy policy (AP 1/29)
Analysis: Familiar Issues Underlie GAO-White House Dispute (The Washington Post 1/30)
Republicans Divide Over Disclosing Information (The New York Times 1/30)
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