Washington (Platts)--27May2004

A US District Court judge in Washington has issued a stay of an earlier
decision that would have required the federal government to release memos,
calendars and other papers held by US Dept of Energy employees and those of
other agencies that worked with the White House energy task force in 2001.
Judge Paul Friedman Wednesday granted a government's request for the stay,
while it appeals his March 31 decision to the US Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit. Friedman, however, denied a the government's
request that he reconsider his decision that upheld claims by the Natural
Resources Defense Council and Judicial Watch for the documents under the
Freedom of Information Act. Under his decision, the agencies were to have
turned over the documents from task force personnel, including the group's
executive director Andrew Lundquist, by June 1. Although the government had
not appealed the decision as of early Thursday, it was expected to do so soon.