Rather than just being "forthcoming with the details of the dealings Mr. Cheney's energy task force had with Enron executives last year," perhaps the administration should finally be forthcoming about everyone who "advised" the task force ("The Enron Investigations," editorial, Jan . 11.
The General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, has sued Mr. Cheney for a list of industry executives who advised the task force.
And it's when Enron helped Dick Cheney devise an energy plan that certainly looks as if it was written by and for the companies that advised his task force.
Mr. Cheney's penchant for secrecy has long been a striking feature of the Bush administration, beginning with his fight to keep confidential the identities of the energy industry officials who advised his task force on national energy policy in 2001.
Some 2,100 professors, staff members, students and alumni have signed an online petition protesting Mr. Rumsfeld's appointment, which will involve advising a task force on ideology and terrorism.
Democrats say that it is hypocritical for Republicans to refuse to release the identities of the people who advised the energy task force.
The company will be represented on an interim basis by Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, the law firm that advised the auto task force.
Connaughton advised setting up task forces to investigate each institution under suspicion; these inquiries could last a year or two, allowing investigators to examine every e-mail and I.M. "You need to be like Ken Starr," Connaughton added.
Mr. Obama, advised by a task force he formed after taking office, forced G.M. and Chrysler through a government-managed bankruptcy, lending them $60 billion more so they could keep operating while restructuring.
Participants were given ten credits and advised that their task was to decide how many of these credits they wanted to keep for themselves and how many (if any) they wished to transfer to their partner.
But it is impossible to know how and why the task force endorsed most of those proposals, and which corporations they help, because Mr. Cheney has steadfastly refused to release the names of industry executives who advised the energy task force as it was researching and compiling its report.
