Opinion: Enron and Cheney's energy plan

Even before the Enron scandal broke, the White House should have revealed the nature of the private discussions administration officials held with executives from Enron and other energy corporations in the course of formulating a new dig-and-drill national energy plan. Vice President Dick Cheney, who chaired the effort, is supposed to work for the American people, and the public deserves to know who met with him and what was discussed.

This is the wrong issue at the wrong time for the administration to pick a fight with Congress. With Enron's collapse, the White House's position makes it appear the administration is embarrassed by the role the former energy giant may have played in writing the plan. The White House could have spared itself some political heat had it released the records of the energy task force when the issue first arose months ago. But it refused, citing the principle of executive privilege.

Cheney, speaking Sunday, defended the administration's position and predicted the standoff would be resolved in court. The General Accounting Office said Wednesday it will file a lawsuit to force the White House to release the records.

Even some prominent Republicans in Congress are trying to send Bush lawyers and spinmeisters a wakeup call. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., urged the White House to release the records -- not because it had to, but as a political gambit to silence critics.

This should not be a partisan issue. Instead, it is a constitutional one, central to Congress' role as a check on executive power. Eight years ago, some congressional Democrats joined with their Republican colleagues in pressing Hillary Rodham Clinton to reveal similar details about the private deliberations of her health care task force.

Despite Cheney's strained claim of executive privilege, the only pertinent principle involved is the principle of open government. Few policy directives from Washington have as direct and universal an impact on American homes and businesses as the price and supply of power. In unveiling the energy plan, Cheney lauded the aggressive strategy of expanded drilling and exploration as a necessary step to protect consumers and national security.

Beyond affecting price and supply, the plan would pose environmental risks and shape tax and regulatory policy for the industry for years to come. The public has an obvious stake in the outcome. Keeping the records secret only raises suspicion that the administration has something to hide.

It is no surprise that a company with Enron's clout would be consulted, or that a White House top-heavy with former oilmen would propose more drilling. But for an honest debate, the public needs to know who helped formulate the administration's plan, how they would benefit, what alternatives were reviewed and what consideration was given to the impact of accelerated drilling.

Releasing the records hardly would open up a "fishing expedition," as the president's spokesman claimed. With Enron's collapse the focus of nearly a dozen congressional and executive-branch investigations, it is reasonable to assume the contacts between Enron and the vice president's task force will be well-documented one way or the other in the months ahead. The various phone calls and meetings in which Enron talked business or energy policy with Washington officials already are leaking out in dribs and drabs. The more the administration stonewalls, the more its energy plan loses credibility.

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