US: The US Supreme Court refused yesterday to require Vice-President Dick Cheney to disclose the records of a 2001 energy task force he headed that endorsed more oil and gas drilling and a revived nuclear energy programme.
In a temporary victory for the US government, the justices set aside a ruling that Mr Cheney must comply with a federal judge's order to produce the internal White House documents or give a detailed explanation of what was withheld and why.
The Bush administration has been criticised by Democratic lawmakers for excessive secrecy over the energy task force and other matters. Critics complained the task force favoured the energy industry at the expense of environmental concerns.
The high court's 7-2 ruling sent the case back to a US appeals court for more hearings on the government's arguments. The case will remain active in the months leading up to the November elections.
The Supreme Court case received widespread attention when Justice Antonin Scalia went on a duck-hunting trip with Mr Cheney in January and then refused to remove himself from the case. He maintained his impartiality could not be questioned.
Justice Scalia was among the justices in the majority. He joined a separate opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas that would go even further than the majority and order the federal judge to rule for the government.
The White House spokesman, Mr Scott McClellan, welcomed the ruling. "We believe that the president should be able to receive candid and unvarnished advice from his staff and advisers. It's an important principle," he said.
The Sierra Club environmental group and the watchdog group Judicial Watch had sued to find out the names and positions of the task force members and to learn about their contacts with industry executives.
They claimed that Mr Cheney, former chief executive of energy and construction company Halliburton Co, drafted a policy that favoured the industry over the environment by consulting executives, including Ken Lay, then of Enron.