Group Loses Bid for More Westar Data (DeLay contribution)

[deminks]

Washington (AP) - A federal judge has refused to order the release of an internal report on political contributions by Westar Energy Inc. a Kansas company that's been indicted in Texas for making illegal corporate contributions to a political committee founded by Majority Leader Tom DeLay. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina refused last week to order the Federal Election Commission to release the report. The ruling came in a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed against the FEC by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group.

Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, said Monday she plans to appeal.

Urbina ruled that because the FEC is prohibited from acknowledging open investigations, the commission would violate privacy laws and possibly generate undeserved negative publicity if it acknowledged that the report exists or made it public.

"This decision allows the FEC to proceed, to reach a conclusion," said Karla Olsen, Westar spokeswoman. "We look forward to having this matter resolved. We anticipate the report will be made public once the FEC reaches a decision."

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0505/228790.html

:popcorn: