EPA Asserts Executive Privilege

Brad Eleven writes: "The Associated Press reports that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has invoked executive privilege to justify withholding information in its response to a lawsuit. In responding to the state of California's challenge to the agency's decision to block that state's attempt to curb the emissions from new cars and trucks, the EPA has delivered the documents requested by the Freedom of Information Act for the discovery phase of the lawsuit — but the documents are heavily redacted. That is, the agency has revealed that it did spend many hours meeting to discuss the issue, but refuses to divulge the details or the outcomes of the meetings. Among the examples cited, 16 pages of a 43-page Powerpoint presentation is completely blank except for the page titles. An EPA spokesperson used language similar to other recent claims of executive privilege, citing "the chilling effect that would occur if agency employees believed their frank and honest opinions and analysis expressed as part of assessing California's waiver request were to be disclosed in a broad setting.""