Court filing contradicts energy secretary’s testimony on grant cuts

A July 15 court filing from Trump administration lawyers stated that grant cancellations were based solely on whether a recipient state was politically "blue" or "non blue," contradicting testimony Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave to Congress months earlier. In an April 15 hearing before the House Appropriations Committee, Wright said the department's "project review process did not take into account any politics in the evaluation of these projects."

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., challenged Wright's claim during that hearing, noting a federal district court had ruled in January that the grant cancellations violated the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee. CNN aired a side-by-side comparison of Wright's testimony and the later court filing on Friday.

Commentators on the CNN segment, including Republican strategist Melik Abdul and former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams, criticized the administration over the admission. Williams said the administration likely had no choice but to disclose the political basis for the cancellations once in court, and said the case could still draw further legal scrutiny over whether required legal procedures were followed, as well as congressional oversight if Democrats win a House majority in the fall.

Read the full story at AlterNet.