Industry officials denied meetings as recently as last week

Now, Cheney knew they were lying. Didn't say anything. Has sought to keep the participants secret.

"Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who posed the question about the task force, said he will ask the Justice Department today to investigate. "The White House went to great lengths to keep these meetings secret, and now oil executives may be lying to Congress about their role in the Cheney task force," Lautenberg said.

"Lea Anne McBride, a spokeswoman for Cheney, declined to comment on the document and said that the courts have upheld "the constitutional right of the president and vice president to obtain information in confidentiality."

"The executives were not under oath when they testified, so they are not vulnerable to charges of perjury; committee Democrats had protested the decision by Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) not to swear in the executives."