Mr Cheney's task force drew up a new energy policy

The Supreme Court decision on an application by two enviromental lobby groups is a setback for the White House.

A US District Court judge ruled in December 2002 that the task force papers could remain closed.

A Congressional watchdog demanded the papers after the Enron scandal.

Enron storm

The application for the Supreme Court to hear the case came from The Sierra Club, which campaigns for reductions in the use of fossil fuels, and the legal lobby group Judical Watch.

Anti-Iraq war protestors accused the White House of 'war for oil'

The White House rejected a request to release details of Mr Cheney's energy task force meetings and contacts which was first made by the investigative arm of Congress in February 2002.

That request from the General Accounting Office (GAO) followed the collapse of Texas-based energy firm Enron in an accounting scandal.

Enron's collapse triggered a wave of revelations about dubious auditing practices in major US firms which provoked sharp stock market falls.

The GAO requested to see records of Mr Cheney's energy policy task force after members of Congress questioned the Bush Administration's contacts with Enron boss Ken Lay.

It asked the White House to produce the documents so it could answer questions about its impartiality in seeking advice on a new energy policy, in particular whether it relied too much on the views of the energy industry.

Privacy vs transparency

Several members of the Bush Administration are former oil industry executives, including President George W Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

The White House argued that privacy ensured the President got higher-quality advice by protecting contributors from embarrassment.

Mr Cheney has acknowledged meeting Mr Lay but says the energy task force was made up of government officials.

The US Appeals Court upheld the District Court ruling in favour of the White House earlier this year.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case next year and make a decision by June 2004.