Think Progress

ADMINISTRATION -- DOCUMENTS REVEAL INFLUENCE OF INDUSTRY IN DEVELOPING ENERGY AGENDA: The Washington Post reports today that in 2001, as the head of the administration's energy task force, Vice President Cheney routinely brushed off environmentalists in order to develop a heavily pro-industry energy agenda. In fact, as of April 2001, "Cheney and his aides had already held at least 40 meetings with interest groups, most of them from energy-producing industries" such as the American Petroleum Institute, National Mining Association, Enron (including convicted CEO Ken Lay), and BP, by the time his staff even met with the first environmental organizations, according to a recently disclosed confidential list. Cheney has mysteriously guarded memos about the task force. "For six years, those names have been a closely guarded secret, thanks to a fierce legal battle waged by the White House. Some names have leaked out over the years, but most have remained hidden because of a 2004 Supreme Court ruling that agreed that the administration's internal deliberations ought to be shielded from outside scrutiny." House Oversight Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) said it is "ridiculous" that it has taken six years to see who attended the task force meetings, describing the surreptitious nature of the meetings as an indicator of "how secretively Vice President Cheney wanted to act." Cheney's secrecy here reflects a history of evading oversight. Most recently, Cheney exempted his office from an executive order protecting classified information, claiming he was not part of the executive branch.

ETHICS -- WHITE HOUSE POLITICIZED NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY: Newly released documents reveal that during the last congressional election cycle, former White House Political Director Sara M. Taylor "enlisted the nation's drug czar to attend events with vulnerable GOP incumbents." The documents reveal what appears to be a "coordinated effort to employ a senior official who is barred by law from political activities to help boost the fortunes of Republican candidates." According to the Los Angeles Times, Taylor "suggested" in a memo to John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, that he attend "20 programs -- round-table discussions, tours, a town hall meeting and other antidrug events -- with Republican candidates from New Jersey to California." Walters was subsequently thanked by Bush's long-time political adviser Karl Rove for his "attention to the candidates." The White House asserts that the events were not political. In a new letter to Taylor, House Oversight Committee Chairman Harry Waxman (D-CA) requests that she appear at a "voluntary deposition" by July 24 to address her apparent use of federal resources for political activities -- a violation of federal law. Waxman said he recognizes that "federal political appointees have traveled to events with members of Congress in prior administrations," but that "what is striking about [Taylor's memo to Walters] is the degree of White House control, the number of trips, and the agency involved." In the letter, Waxman explained, "there has been growing evidence that the operations of the Department of Justice, the General Services Administration, and the Surgeon General have been improperly politicized. ... Documents recently provided to the Oversight Committee suggest that White House efforts to politicize the activities of federal agencies may be more widespread than previously known." Recently, Taylor responded to suggestions that she was involved with the politicization of the Justice Department, saying, "I took an oath the President, and I take that oath very seriously."

IRAQ -- PENTAGON FINALLY REQUESTS LIFESAVING VEHICLES AFTER URGENT PLEAS BY COMMANDERS IN IRAQ: Yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Congress for more funds "to buy Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to protect troops in Iraq from insurgent bombs." MRAPs are "designed to withstand the underbelly bombs that cripple the lower-riding Humvees," such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs), "the No. 1 killer of U.S. forces" in Iraq. In the more than 300 attacks on the few MRAPs in Iraq, "no Marines have been killed." Yet Gates's request for the vehicles "comes about 2 1/2 years after Marines in the field made an urgent plea for" MRAPs. According to a letter sent to Gates by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Kit Bond (R-MO), the delay has cost the lives of "621 to 742 Americans." A USA Today investigation found that "instead of granting the February 2005 request, then-Marine commandant Michael Hagee decided that June to buy more armored Humvees." Marine spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said yesterday that Hagee ignored the commanders' request because "IEDs...were not a pronounced threat at the time." In 2004, the Bush administration spent "$150 million to defeat IEDs," and "there were 5,607 IED attacks." In fact, e-mail records obtained by USA Today reveal that "Pentagon analysts sent detailed information about the superiority of the vehicles to the Joint Chiefs of Staff" as early as Dec. 2003. In one of the e-mails, a Pentagon analyst complained to a colleague that it was "frustrating to see the pictures of burning Humvees while knowing that there are other vehicles out there that would provide more protection."

"The board of Dow Jones said late Tuesday it was ready to sign off" on Rupert Murdoch's proposal to buy the company for $5 billion. "However, the key remains with the Bancroft family, whose three dozen members have been deeply divided over whether to sell to Murdoch."

The National Intelligence Estimate released yesterday warned that Hezbollah could be "more likely to consider attacking the homeland" if it sees the United States as a threat to the group or to Iran. Slate's Fred Kaplan says that "this amounts to a direct warning to the White House: Don't attack Iran."

Resentment toward American forces remains "fierce" as "Iraqis endure their fifth blazing summer without sufficient power." The LA Times writes, "If anything is seen as symbolic of the United States' failure to deliver on its promise that life would be better without Saddam Hussein, it is the lack of reliable electricity."

The White House yesterday "played down the importance of President Bush's proposal for a Mideast peace conference and said it was too early to say where or when it would take place."

"Rapidly rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are driving noxious poison ivy and those annoying patches of dandelion to grow taller, lusher and more resilient, according to two new studies."

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) continues to maintain a "hold" on a bill that would cut down the lengthy wait time that plagues the Freedom of Information Act system. "Following easy passage by the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee, however, the FOIA fix has been halted. Despite recent reports detailing delays and difficulties in getting government information, the Department of Justice has objected to the new legislation."

And finally: While Senate staffers were busy yesterday rolling out cots for the chamber's all-night Iraq debate, many senators said they didn't plan on using them. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who "towers at 6-feet-7-inches tall," said, "I don't fit on a cot." Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) admitted, "I've got a couch in my hideaway." Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) lives just four blocks from the Capitol and planned on slipping home to catch a nap.