Administration Appeals Ruling on Secret V.P. Visitation Records

14 Dec 2006 // May just be cynical thinking but do you believe they've got something to hide?

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration asked an appeals court Wednesday to overrule a federal judge and allow the White House to keep secret any records of visitors to Vice President Dick Cheney's residence and office.

To make the visitor records public would be an "unprecedented intrusion into the daily operations of the vice presidency," the Justice Department argued in a 57-page brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia.

This ain't the first time.

People who don't want others to know.

White House, 5/1/06:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Despite repeated White House objections to the release of documents related to Jack Abramoff's visits to the White House, the Secret Service has agreed to produce all logs detailing the disgraced lobbyist's meetings, according to a court filing released Monday.

White House, 5/12/06:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Newly released visitor logs show disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was signed in to the White House complex on two occasions since President Bush took office in 2001, including once when the president was out of town.

However, Secret Service officials concede the electronic records are not comprehensive and that Abramoff may have entered the complex on other occasions as a member of a pre-arranged group, which would not show up in the logs.

People who want to know.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), 9/29/06:

[HEADLINE] 485: Number of documented White House/Abramoff team interactions

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), 9/29/06:

A bipartisan Congressional report documents hundreds of contacts between White House officials and the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his partners, including at least 10 direct contacts between Mr. Abramoff and Karl Rove, the president’s chief political strategist.

Nor would this be the second time. Remember this from August 2005?

A White House document shows that executives from big oil companies met with Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001 — something long suspected by environmentalists but denied as recently as last week by industry officials testifying before Congress.

The document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated.