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Judge Orders US Energy Policy Documents Revealed VOA News 28 Feb 2002 16:55 UTC 
The White House is downplaying a federal judge's ruling that orders the Bush administration to release documents related to the president's energy policy.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters Thursday the release was requested under the Freedom of Information Act and is not related to a Congressional lawsuit for the release of similar documents. Mr. Fleischer says it is administration policy to comply with Freedom of Information requests.
A Washington judge ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Energy Department must make available about 7,500 pages of documents within one month. The judge also criticized the Bush administration for its delay in complying with a request filed last April by an environmental interest group, the National Resources Defense Council.
Congress' investigative arm - the General Accounting Office, GAO, has demanded documents related to Vice President Dick Cheney's energy policy task force. The office wants to determine what role energy industry executives played in developing the White House energy policy.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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