An environmental organization filed a Freedom of Information Act request to force the release of “information concerning potential political interference” in a report on federal fossil fuel leases.
The Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit against the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) seeking “non-exempt information concerning potential political interference in a much-anticipated report on the causal connection between climate change and federal fossil fuel leases.”
The complaint also claims that the White House might have taken part in an “inappropriate weakening” of the report, released by the Interior Department.
"Given the lofty climate goals outlined in the Executive Order, many (including FOE’s members) expected the Secretary’s report to contain a thorough discussion of how fossil fuels extracted from federal lands and waters exacerbate the ever-growing climate crisis," it reads.
It goes on to contend that the report “may have been modified significantly in response to political pressure from the White House and CEQ, acting at the behest of oil-and-gas industry interests and oil-producing states."
The complaint says that although the group filed a FOIA request in January, the council did not acknowledge receiving the request. The organization claims that the council is violating the Freedom of Information Act and asks the court to order the release of the information it is seeking.
In a statement, Hallie Templeton, legal director for FOE, said: "It should not take a lawsuit for the White House to meet its legally mandated transparency obligations to disclose how and why climate change was stripped from Interior’s report on the leasing program.”
Nicole Ghio, the organization’s Senior Fossil Fuels Program Manager, added in a statement: “Candidate Biden promised to be a climate leader and halt new oil and gas lease sales on public lands and waters, but President Biden broke that promise.
"We demand to know why his administration’s final fossil fuel leasing report failed to include climate impacts and bore little resemblance to the comprehensive review mandated by his own executive order.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.