Here's the theory
Just knowing who he's consulting with gives some indication of what he's thinking. Use the computer industry for an example: You wouldn't bring in a RedHat consultant unless you were considering Linux. And if you're a Microsoft partner, you wouldn't necessarily want it to get out that you were doing so.
How might this apply to the VP and the energy industry? Hmm, suppose the guest list included the head of a company that specializes in Nuclear Waste processing, engineers who recently built nuke plants in Europe or the far east, and some members of the administration of a southwestern state? You could count on major grief from environmentalists.
Does that mean I agree with the argument? Not neccesarily. But I don't think it's as cut-and-dried as the people demanding the list paint it. They, of course, would say that scenarios like the one I have suggested are exactly why they need the information.
