Big Oil: "We get by with a little help from our friends"*

Cheney Stifled Energy Probe, GAO Investigators Say

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional investigators said on Monday that Vice President Dick Cheney had stymied their investigation into his energy task force by refusing to turn over key documents.

The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said it was impossible to tell how much energy companies or industry groups may have influenced the task force's 2001 report because the administration withheld important records.

"The extent to which submissions from any of these stakeholders were solicited, influenced policy deliberations or were incorporated into the final report is not something that we can determine based on the limited information at our disposal," the GAO said.

To quote Bob Dole from another time in another millenium, "Where's the outrage?!"

*(Ed. note: With apologies to The Beatles.)