CIA Says No To Cheney's Request For Memos

By: Michelle Levi
Topics

(CBS)

The CIA announced this afternoon that they have denied former Vice President Dick Cheney's call to declassify secret memos which he says proves that important national security information was gained through harsh interrogation during the Bush administration.

An agency's spokesman, Paul Gimigliano, said that the process for declassification is "governed" by a specific Executive Order which does not allow information "pending litigation" to be declassified.

"For that reason—and that reason only—CIA did not accept Mr. Cheney's request for a Mandatory Declassification Review," Gimigliano said. "The Agency simply followed the Executive Order. This request was handled in accordance with normal practice by CIA professionals with long experience in information management and release. It was for them a straightforward issue."

Cheney's office said they would appeal the decision.

The former vice president requested the memos be released on March 31, 2009.

On "Face The Nation" Sunday, Mr. Cheney dared the CIA to release the classified information.

"Release the memos. And we can look and see for yourself what was produced. The memos do exist. I have seen them. I had them in my files at one time… That's what's in those memos," he said.

He said the memos talk "specifically about different attack planning that was under way and how it was stopped. It talks about how the volume of intelligence reports that were produced from that."

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by randysanders May 18, 2009 3:56 PM EDT: It would seem that Mr. Cheneys "Executive Privilege" has been revoked. The Appeal which his attorneys would present wouldn't possibly invoke "executive privilege" as a right to ascertain that "torture" was essentially a "necessary" war time effort to gain "insightful" intel on "terrorist activities", or would it?

According to the fifth amendment, " The right not to incriminate ..." is generally accepted as a "gilty plea". The right to have a lawyer argue that "declassification" may take place during a pending ltigation is not incompliance with existing Executive Order, besides that would be like asking the CIA to incriminate itself when in fact it was the Cheney and Bush Administration who made all the decisions when it came to the "war efforts".; Reply to this comment


by mattcat25 May 15, 2009 9:25 AM EDT: Dear Mr. Cheney,

In regards to your request that this agency release and declassify super secret documentation on your mandate of this organization to conduct super secret illegal torture tactics on alleged muslim subjects against the Geneva Convention regulations will not be granted due to that you are the major defendant in an on going litigation.

I other words Dick, GO F*&k YOURSELF!!
If you will?; Reply to this comment


by toldyouso29 May 14, 2009 7:22 PM EDT: translation: "Fugh off Cheney...you're nobody now". lol; Reply to this comment


by starleo146 May 14, 2009 6:54 PM EDT: bet Cheney is so mad he wishes he could out another covert CIA agent. It's harder to commit treason when you're not in the loop.
Posted by salmoc44 at 1:59 PM : May 14, 200

He spent so much time at the CIA I think they were ready to make him a agent.; Reply to this comment


by starleo146 May 14, 2009 6:50 PM EDT: I think someone should say nothing else will be released till the investigation from the Justice Dept is complete. bring it to court ,and if found not enough evidence to go to court release everything to the public. if they go to court it will all come to the public then, so just sit back and see where the ball bounces,,, and the press can wait as well, word from the Justice Dept. should state just that so all can be informed and just shut up about it till it is over; Reply to this comment


by starleo146 May 14, 2009 6:43 PM EDT: So Cheney wants 2 cherry picked memos out of thousands to prove himself right. How about we look at ALL of them to decide. He claims he wants to show the public proof that he was right, what would the other few thousand memos show, that he was wrong?
Posted by PVperson2 at 2:16 PM : May 14, 2009

Want to bet he has a copy of everything and will probably release them anyway to the press of course.; Reply to this comment


by starleo146 May 14, 2009 6:40 PM EDT: Cheney was secretive while he was vice president. He never gave any interviews and didn't care what the press had to say. Now he is a full court press press insisting torture was right. And he wants to declassify some of his secret memos to "prove" himself right. So hypocritical and so pathetically funny
Posted by mrzerato at 3:11 PM : May 14, 20

He even said he wasn't part of the legislative or executive branch of government, he was a entity unto himself I guess. It went to his head and decided all the power is out there for him to grab and to make it his own My God this man needs a straight Jacket and a muzzle he is a disgrace to this country and a traitor; Reply to this comment


by starleo146 May 14, 2009 6:35 PM EDT: I asked this question before, Why if Darth Vader is so all fired up to save this country, WHY??? didn't he call Obama and say to him what is on his mind??? Why the Press ???? This man is scared his butt will be put on coals before all this is over, and he is out there trying to save his BUTT. We wondered while he was in the Vice President's chair where he was never heard from him, now we know he was planning all these devious things and now he is scared he will be found out. Well Dickey Boy as Nixon found out there is always one that is willing to tell this whole story, If he was so honest ,why were they compelled before leaving the White House grant themselves executive privilege. Please these people are a crooked as the munchkins going down the yellow brick road; Reply to this comment


by mrzerato May 14, 2009 6:11 PM EDT: Cheney was secretive while he was vice president. He never gave any interviews and didn't care what the press had to say. Now he is a full court press press insisting torture was right. And he wants to declassify some of his secret memos to "prove" himself right. So hypocritical and so pathetically funny; Reply to this comment


by wheear May 14, 2009 5:44 PM EDT: I really struggle with a guy who went into hiding while in office but won't go away when his term ends. This guy only wants to vindicate himself. He doesn't care about protecting the USA. His ego is at stake. If he cared, we would have had this discussion when he and Bush ran the country. I could respect him more had he been willing to discuss his antics before hand. Even his wife who we never heard from is in on the act. GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone knows if you beat most people till their silly, more than likely they will tell you what you want to hear.; Reply to this comment