Cheney to address secret group
Council for National Policy will meet in Salt Lake
"The membership list, previously made public, is now 'strictly confidential.' Guests may attend 'only with the unanimous approval of the executive committee.' Members are instructed not to refer to the organization by name, to protect against leaks. It is said that the secrecy is intended to insulate the Council from the liberal bias of the news media."
Vice President Dick Cheney will speak to a super-secret, conservative policy group in Utah on Friday during his second trip to the state this year.
Cheney will address the fall meeting of the Council for National Policy, a group whose self-described mission is to promote "a free-enterprise system, a strong national defense and support for traditional Western values."
The organization -- made up of few hundred powerful conservative activists -- holds confidential meetings and members are advised not to use the name of the group in communications, according to a New York Times profile of the group.
"The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs, before [or] after a meeting,'' a list of rules obtained by The Times showed. The group did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
Czech Republic President Václav Klaus is also expected to address the Council for National Policy's meeting in downtown Salt Lake City. After his speech, Cheney will meet with Klaus, the vice president's office said Tuesday.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who ran the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, will also be in Utah on Friday but his campaign did not respond to a question about whether he would talk with the group.
Cheney's visit is expected to be short, only a few hours, according to people familiar with the trip's details. The trip coincides with fundraisers in California, Colorado, Nevada and Wyoming, Cheney's spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said.
All of the events on the trip are closed to the public and the news media, McBride said.
Cheney last visited the state April 26 to give the commencement speech at Brigham Young University.
By Thomas Burr
The Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7001456
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