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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Ron Brownstein

Aired February 23, 2002 - 12:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Vice President Dick Cheney is being sued over access to energy documents, which also involve Enron. The suit was filed by the investigative arm of Congress, known as the General Accounting Office. The GAO wants Cheney to turn over records of closed door energy task force meetings. Some were attended by Enron executives. The White House says it will fight the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, President Bush touted his energy plan today in his radio address.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My comprehensive energy plan is not just important for energy security. It is also vital to our economic security. Economic growth requires reliable and affordable energy, and labor organizations support my plan, because they know my energy plan means thousands of new jobs across America.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Senate resumes debate this week on the president's energy legislation.

We take a closer look now at this unprecedented lawsuit against the White House and how Enron is connected to all of it.

Joining me now from Washington is Ron Brownstein with the "Los Angeles Times" -- thanks for joining me this morning.

RON BROWNSTEIN, "L.A. TIMES": Good afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Well, Cheney's camp is going to fight this, saying that this suit would undermine the privacy of closed door meetings. Does he have a point?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, what they have is a very strong determination to fight this out in court. You know, we have not had a case like this, as the GAO, which is an 81-year-old organization, pointed out yesterday they have had to file a lawsuit like this. So we really don't know. It's what the lawyers call a case of first impression. We don't know what -- there is really no precedent here for how the courts may rule.

One thing that's clear, though, is that the determination to prosecute this suit, to push it forward and resist the GAO is coming right from the core of the administration, from the president and the vice president. I mean, there are some of the political advisers in and around the administration, who feel that it is really counter productive to keep this in the news week after week for a protracted lawsuit, but there's a lot of determination right from the top. And as a result, most people expect a long protracted dispute here.

WHITFIELD: Now, the premise of this suit, the GAO wants to know how much Cheney and others in the Bush camp may have been consulting Enron executives or other energy executives more than they may have been or they should have been consulting environmentalists, for one, right?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, what they really want to know is just who they were talking to. I mean, one thing the administration has complained about is that they have argued the GAO is asking for actual information from the meetings, notes and so forth. The GAO has excised that from their request. They really now are focusing in on the question of who met with the task force, as they were preparing the administration energy plan.

And you know, the precedent -- the closest precedent may be the Hillary Clinton health care task force in '94. There are some differences, but ultimately that task force, after initially resisting, did provide similar information to the GAO. But again, it has never really been tested in court, so we are probably going to see this go all the way the Supreme Court before we have an answer.

WHITFIELD: And the executive branch, the White House is now saying that, you know, by revealing this kind of information, giving the list of names or supplying the documents will hamper them in the future, when it comes down to making kind of private consultations, looking for advisers. Do they have a point there?

BROWNSTEIN: They do have something of a point, but they have also been -- they have selectively released some of the information here. I mean, they have disclosed they had I believe six contacts with Enron officials in response to a congressional request. And the GAO does make requests of the executive branch all the time. Essentially what it is, is the auditing arm of Congress. It is -- you go to the GAO Web site, you will see it's very dense with reports on how the federal government actually operates, whether the programs are working, whether they are effective.

So all of the time they are seeking very detailed information from the executive branch and we never really have had, as I said, a case like this, where the administration is arguing that it would be too restrictive or inhibit their options in the future to provide this information.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, Ron Brownstein, for joining us from the "L.A. Times," joining us from Washington this afternoon -- thanks a lot.

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