News: Media Center

WASHINGTON (April 30, 2002) -- Yesterday, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) issued a subpoena to the director of Vice President Cheney's energy task force. The group wants to depose Andrew Lundquist and force the Energy Department to finally hand over records of who consulted with him to formulate the Bush energy policy.

"As the administration's top official on the task force, Andrew Lundquist ran the show for Vice President Cheney," said NRDC senior attorney Sharon Buccino. "The public is entitled to know what he knows."

Because Lundquist headed the energy task force as an employee of the Department of Energy (DOE), he was subject to NRDC's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. But the agency failed to include his records among the more than 12,000 court-ordered documents provided to NRDC.

Lundquist is a former top aide to Republican Sens. Frank Murkowski and Ted Stevens of Alaska. He was appointed in January 2001 to serve as executive director of the National Energy Policy Development Group, the official name of the energy task force. After the task force disbanded in September, Lundquist served as an advisor on energy policy to Vice President Cheney. He left the White House on March 28, 2002, to start his own consulting firm in Washington. He also is reportedly serving as an officer and board member at an undisclosed company.

"As the key staffer directing the work of the energy task force, Lundquist's records contain critical missing pieces to the energy puzzle. It's disconcerting, but not surprising, that the Energy Department is trying to keep the lid on his information," said Buccino. "But administration officials are not above the law. They can and will be held accountable to the citizens they serve."

NRDC requested the energy task force documents over a year ago under FOIA, and filed a lawsuit to get the documents after being rebuffed by the administration. NRDC is represented in its lawsuit by the Washington, D.C., law firm of Meyer and Glitzenstein.

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, non-profit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more than 500,000 members nationwide, served from offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Related NRDC Pages
NRDC's Review of the Bush Administration Energy Task Force Records - Sample Documents
Search the Task Force Records

Additional Downloadable Material for the Press
NRDC's Notice of Deposition to Andrew Lundquist