"The US State Department, tasked with deciding on a controversial giant pipeline between the United States and Canada, faced fresh charges Thursday of bias over the project."

"The environmental group Friends of the Earth (FoE) cited new emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to show what it said is a degree of complicity between US diplomats and pipeline operator TransCanada Corps.

"State Department officials acted as though they were on the same team as TransCanada, rather than meeting their obligation to be independent regulators," FoE climate and energy director Damon Moglen said in a statement."

AFP had the story November 18, 2011. [2]