Washington ? Comptroller General David Walker kept the door open Friday for an out-of-court settlement of the lingering dispute between Congress and the White House over the records of Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy task force.

“There are a number of people on both sides of the aisle on (Capitol) Hill, on both ends of the Hill, that would like to see some accommodation reached,” Walker said, adding that he was “flexible on how we obtain that information.”

Walker, who directs the investigative arm of Congress, the General Accounting Office, has vowed to sue the White House for the records, which have taken on new importance with the collapse of Enron Corp.

The White House, while stopping short of claiming executive privilege, argues that the GAO request violates the constitutional provision for separation of powers and has refused to release much information about the task force that developed the administration’s energy policy last spring.

The comptroller general said he would be out of the country next week and would not pursue the unprecedented lawsuit until he returned.

In the meantime, he said that members of Congress who “would like to avoid this” would have some more time to encourage the White House to resolve the issue.

“I would prefer not to sue them, but I will, if I have to,” Walker said.

Attorneys for the GAO and the vice president have conferred once in recent weeks, he added, but were not negotiating.

He refused to discuss reports that he had spoken directly with Cheney recently.

The GAO has been seeking the energy task force records at the behest of Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and John Dingell, D-Mich., who contend that energy companies particularly Enron, a major contributor to Bush and his fellow Republicans were too influential in development of the administration’s energy policy.