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The Cheney Behind Cheney

VP's chief of staff is architect of some of his most extreme positions

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 25, 2007 3:19 PM CST

(Newser) – A new book by former Bush insider Jack Goldstein, The Terror Presidency, spotlights David Addington, the reclusive counsel and key player to Dick Cheney. Called "Cheney's Cheney" in some circles, Addington has designed some of the White House's most controversial policies, including rendition, warrantless wiretapping, and the use of torture, the New York Review of Books reports.

Goldstein excoriates Addington for putting political gain above the law; Goldstein himself quit the administration after only nine months when he could no longer support its most divisive policies. But while Goldstein now teaches at Harvard, Addington has risen to the post of Cheney's chief of staff (vacated by Scooter Libby). His plan? "We're going to push and push until some larger force makes us stop."

David Addington, Dick Cheney's chief of staff and a key architect of some of the administration's most controversial policies.
David Addington, Dick Cheney's chief of staff and a key architect of some of the administration's most controversial policies.   (KRT Photos)
David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff.
David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff.   (Getty Images (by Event))
David Addington, the chief of staff in the office of Dick Cheney.
David Addington, the chief of staff in the office of Dick Cheney.   (Getty Images)
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