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Secretive Veep Won't Give Up Documents

Cheney defies executive order to provide sensitive info

By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 22, 2007 2:53 PM CDT
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(Newser) – For the past 4 years, Dick Cheney's office has declined to file reports on classified information in its possession, flouting an executive order. When pressed, the VP's staff recently proposed abolishing the oversight office, reports the Washington Post. Says the chair of the House committee that released a chronology of the dispute yesterday: "He's saying he's above the law."

Cheney has battled lawmakers and the media over privacy, consistently refusing to divulge advisers' and visitors' names or release details of his travels. This dispute, which centers on his office's argument that his role as president of the Senate means he plays both executive and legislative roles, suggests he is willing to go up against another part of the administration.

Vice President Dick Cheney, second from left, walks on the grounds of Beit al Bahar, a beach house of Jordan's King Abdullah, as he conducts an interview with Bret Baier of Fox News, second from right, after meeting with King Abdullah in Aqaba, Jordan, Monday May 14, 2007. The Red...
Vice President Dick Cheney, second from left, walks on the grounds of Beit al Bahar, a beach house of Jordan's King Abdullah, as he conducts an interview with Bret Baier of Fox News, second from right,...   (Associated Press)
Vice President Dick Cheney acknowledges applause from West Point cadets and visiting guests after speaking at the West Point Military Academy graduation Saturday, May 26, 2007 at West Point Military Academy in Highland Falls, NY. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Vice President Dick Cheney acknowledges applause from West Point cadets and visiting guests after speaking at the West Point Military Academy graduation Saturday, May 26, 2007 at West Point Military Academy...   (Associated Press)
Vice President Dick Cheney, left, listens, as President Bush meets with members of Congress, Wednesday, June 20, 2007, in the Oval Office at the White House. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Vice President Dick Cheney, left, listens, as President Bush meets with members of Congress, Wednesday, June 20, 2007, in the Oval Office at the White House. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)   (Associated Press)
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COMMENTS
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"Is Cheney suggesting that as far as federal rules are concerned, his office essentially doesn't exist?"
Washington Post

More on committee chairman Henry Waxman's stinging letter to Cheney
New York Times

"There's the legislative branch, the judicial branch, the executive branch, and the Ministry of Information"
Wonkette

"The conclusion of any logical person of course is that the Vice-President is insane and should be impeached"
Progressive American Patriot blog

A constitutional law scholar explains executive privilege
University of Chicago

 
Bush administration • Dick Cheney • Congressional oversight • Henry Waxman • privacy • vice president

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