White House: health care reform advisory panel never existed

Politico.com/blogs ^ | 9/27/11 | Josh Gerstein

[ColdOne]

President Barack Obama never used a "de facto" committee of outside advisers to help him craft health care legislation, a White House attorney wrote in unusual filings with a federal court in Washington Monday night.

In a ruling last month, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Roberts refused to dismiss a lawsuit legal gadfly Larry Klayman and his group Freedom Watch brought in 2009 alleging that an "Obama Health Reform De Facto Advisory Committee" was meeting at the White House in violation of federal laws requiring that such meetings be formally announced and open to the public.

The Justice Department had asked that the lawsuit be dismissed on separation of powers grounds, but Roberts said Freedom Watch's complaint made detailed enough allegations about the alleged committee that the suit could proceed. However, he asked government lawyers to address whether the suit might be moot since the health care legislation under development in 2009 was passed early in 2010.

[Grey Eagle]

They wrote the stimulous bill.

[Grey Eagle]

They wrote the stimulus bill.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ColdOne.

never used a "de facto" committee of outside advisers to help him craft health care legislation

Death Panels are real though.

[Freedom56v2]

Nailed it!!