White House Backs Cheney's Secrecy Stance

Bush Administration Defends VP's Decision Not To Cooperate With Archives

(AP)  The White House on Friday defended Vice President Dick Cheney's decision not to cooperate with a government office charged with safeguarding national security information — and denied that Cheney ever suggested the agency be shut down.

Despite objections from the National Archives and others, presidential spokesmen say Cheney's office is not bound by certain sections of a presidential executive order that seeks to protect national security information generated by the government.

Under the order, executive branch offices are required to give the Information Security Oversight Office at the archives data on how much material they classify and declassify. Cheney's office provided the information in 2001 and 2002, then stopped.

White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said it's clear that the president's executive order never intended for the vice president's office to be treated as an "agency."

"He's not exempt from following the laws of the United States," Perino said. "He's exempt just from this reporting requirement in this particular executive order."

Cheney's office claims it doesn't have to comply with the order because it is not an "agency" or "entity" within the executive branch, according to Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is investigating the matter.

Waxman scoffed at the assertion, calling it "an absurdity for the ages."

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Court Watch: Is The VP's Office Above The Law?

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"The vice president is pretending he isn't part of the executive branch and the White House is pretending that the rules for protecting classified information are being followed," he said in a statement.

"The vice president can't unilaterally decide he is his own branch of government and exempt himself from important, commonsense safeguards for protecting classified information. And he can't insist he has the powers of both the executive and the legislature branches but the responsibilities of neither. Our Constitution doesn't work that way," he said.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked in January to resolve the legal dispute, but he has not yet ruled on the issue.

Government secrecy specialists insist that Cheney's office is covered by the executive order and must report the number of times it classifies material and the number of pages it declassifies to the Information Security Oversight Office.

Steve Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' government secrecy project, said the executive order defines "agency" as any executive agency, military department and "any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information."

If Cheney's office is not part of the executive branch, "they're going to have to rewrite the textbooks," Aftergood said.

In an eight-page letter to Cheney on Thursday, Waxman said that J. William Leonard, director of the Information Security Oversight Office, told his committee that Cheney's advisers recommended that the executive order be amended to abolish the ISOO.

"I don't think that anyone has suggested that," Perino said.

In the letter, Waxman asked Cheney to respond to a series of questions about why he believes his office is exempt, and what steps his office has taken to ensure that national security information is protected.

"The office of the vice president is in compliance with laws relating to classified material," said Megan McGinn, a spokeswoman for the vice president.

However, according to Waxman, Leonard told the House panel that Cheney's office blocked the archives from doing an onsite inspection of his office in 2004 to make sure classified information was being properly protected.

Data from Cheney's office has not been included in the Information Security Oversight Office reports since it stopped reporting them after 2002.

A White House official said the vice president's office never believed it was required to file the reports, and that when it realized it had done so in 2001 and 2002, it ended the practice.

[rushlimpdrug]

Somebody please save our country from this scum.
Cheney thinks he is God's gift to America.
Demos and Republicans should stand up to this scum and show the defend AMERICA.
I am sick of all these wimps kissing Cheney and Bush azz and bowing to them.
IMPEACH the scum! ! !
Anybody?

[donnie900]

Well .. lets see here. Let me do the math.

If you ******** big mouths impeach Bush then .. oh-oh. That means that its Richard Cheney! OH MY GOD! Can't do that.

We'd have to one of dem der "administration impeachments". Oh yah ... I heard of those. Those are de big "right wing conspiracy" impeachment thingies I heard so much about.

[bm6005]

Two scum sucking pigs!!! Boosh and Darth.

[randalds]

The title should be "White House Declares Itself to be Above the Law!"

How much more of this are Americans going to take? How can even people who originally supported Bush just sit there and let them say that the law does not apply to them like it applies to everyday Americans? Their declarations do not reflect republican values. They are not conservative values. They most certainly are not American values. They are the declarations of Dictators and Kings. George W. Bush has just declared that he and the Vice-President are above the law and there is no outrage from Bush supporters? Have you finally reached the point where you're ready to declare him King or President for Life, because that is what he has just declared himself to be. Do you not care about your nation as a democracy any longer? Well I for one refuse to salute the new Fuhrer! Except with my middle finger! He is not MY dictator or king or president for life! SCR*EW YOU GEORGE W BUSH AND THE FACIST VICE-PRESIDENT YOU RODE IN ON!!! Seig Heil THIS Mother-fu*cker!

[donnie900]

hey hey hey .. dis is a family show.

[randalds]

The White House cast.

Bush as Hitler, because he has an insane desire to conquer the world and to be the sole ruler of it and America.

Cheney as Goering. A fat bombastic drunken bag of wind. A scum-sucking dog stealing national treasures for himself.

Rice as a combination of Eva Braun (she IS Hitlers mistress) and Magda Goebbels (fanatically devoted to "her" man)

Any more?

[donnie900]

Yup .. *sniff*. Cheney reminds me of one of dem der "super dinosaurs". Ya know de ones bigger den T-Rex? One of dem der.

I once saw dat guy jump so high .. der was like dis ********* guy on a ultra-light.. wit a buncha canada geese. Canadian dude, I think he was.

[cbslogin12]

I am counting down the days left to Bush and Company's time in office.

Impeachment proceedings would take even longer with our do nothing Congress.

I am deeply concerned about what additional irreparable harm they will do with the days they have left!

[omega39-2009]

Want to know why congressional approval is lower than Bush's, the spineless Democrats watch Bush declaring himself Supreme Dictator and do nothing but run and whine to the press. Impeach Cheney first and then Bush.

[jegibbons]

RandalDS
I see you're up to your Bush Bashing, Name calling Mindless Give 'em what for, inflammatory grenade tossing rhetoric!

I wanted to THANK YOU for your valuable tip on A GOOGLE TOOL BAR spell checker. Nice addition!

[reel-crazy]

Did anyone truly think the BoyBlunder would allow his trusty sidekick, SlickyDicky, to tell the truth?

[donnie900]

Democrats are all talk .. Hohoho... man. They are ALL talk. There should be like um .. big giant fans with generators on them.. in front of their mouths, ya know? We wouldn't need coal.

[randalds]

I wanted to THANK YOU for your valuable tip on A GOOGLE TOOL BAR spell checker. Nice addition!
Posted by JEGibbons at 02:48 PM : Jun 23, 2007

It does come in handy when bashing the current fascists regime.

[jedi08]

You guys should stop worrying about impeaching Bush. Your mindless jabber is just as usless as congress's withdrawl from Iraq. What you should be focusing on is Rudy, he is going to be our future president after all. Thanks in large part to the Unelectable Billary Clinton.

[donnie900]

In the national security sector they ask ya: "Whats yer political affiliation." It replaced the standard question #15 of: "Have you ever had an affair on your spouse?"

[randalds]

"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked in January to resolve the legal dispute, but he has not yet ruled on the issue."

That's like Hitler asking Henry Ford or Charles Lindbergh to give a ruling on the persecution of Jews.

[otrlpt]

OF COURSE Bush agrees with Cheney....did Kermit ever argue with Frank Oz, did Charlie McCarthy ever argue with Paul Wintchil, did the Hand puppet ever argue with Senior Winches? Did Lambchop ever disagree with Sharie Lewis??

[jedi08]

Randalds

I feel sad for you. All that anger inside. Then when Rudy Wins in 08 your probably going to have a mental breakdown. Keep up your mindless name calling with no facts or actaull political solution coming. It makes me laugh and smile everyday at work reading about your Frustration. There is nothing better (0r more Common) then an angry Liberal! (Bush stole the election, Impeach Bush, or Chenny or Bush senior, Regan is Satin, blah blah blah) You guys are sad and about to lose in 08 again. keep the frustrated Liberal talk coming, its how I know the Right is winning!

[donnie900]

My name .. Jose Jimenez .. And I wanna be a astronaut.

[omega39-2009]

Rudy as president, Bwahahahahaha!!

Bloomberg%u2019s predecessor, Rudy Giuliani (R), has stayed in the GOP but had a tough week. His favorable ratings fell to 53%. That%u2019s down ten points since late May. His unfavorable ratings jumped eight points and 40% of voters now have a negative view of the man known by some as America%u2019s Mayor. Earlier in the week, Rasmussen Reports polling showed that Giuliani had fallen a point behind former Senator Fred Thompson in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination. While that%u2019s statistically insignificant, it%u2019s the first time all year Giuliani has been anywhere but on top in that poll.

Among Republicans, 74% now have a favorable opinion of Giuliani. That%u2019s down from 82% in late May. Twenty-three percent (23%) of Republican voters now have an unfavorable opinion of Giuliani.

[klingon69]

Two scum sucking pigs!!! Boosh and Darth.
Posted by bm6005 at 02:25 PM : Jun 23, 2007
I thought it was ****** & barf

[usa1881]

"absurdity of the ages" - Henry Waxman

FYI Henry Waxman is a notorious tax-and-spend, anti-National Defense, pro-ILLEGAL alien Democrat who has wasted more time in Congress than even most of the sorry losers there like Madam Pelosi.

For the occasional good - I'm stretching it here - that Waxman has done, on health care issues and for seniors, he has done perhaps a million or more terrible things, perhaps the least of which is spending taxpayer dollars like there's no tomorrow.

If anyone is an "absurdity for the ages" it is that old, bald, dumb Liberal Waxman who should have been kicked out on his keester decades ago. He, like Carter, Clinton, Pelosi, Reid and Kennedy are symptomatic of the problems we face -they are most assuredly not the solution - whether you hate Republicans or not.

[donnie900]

Sha.. pfffft! Calling people names. And you call yerselves grownups. Let me ******* tell yaz somfin: In dis here basement I am de superman. I am de hitzak pro rebiderak..

[donnie900]

You people think you can rate things. You people think you know.. butcha don't. You don't know nut'n. Are you de hitzak? Huh? Is der a green light around yer nub? Huh? No.

I .. am de hitzak. I am! Not youz. And I say Cheney's sexxxxxy. You should see his muffdive'n writing..

[mizpah63]

Impeachment of either Bush or Cheney--or both--is out of the question; there isn't enough time left in this administration to complete the process. Surely, Bush and Cheney know they are impeachment-proof. However, the legislation that has been passed during GWs tenure is not irrevocable. If the republicans in the House and Senate would swallow a bit of their self-interest and join their democrat counterparts, much of Bush's legislation could be revoked, and much of the Constitutional damage repaired before the election. It's amazing that our congressmen and women in both houses haven't figured this out. They can distance themselves from Bush, do themselves a huge political favor, and attenuate the absolute disgust that Americans hold for elected officials of all stripes if they will do what is right.

[peacethinker-2009]

What are they afraid of? What are they hiding? It's disgusting how the Bushies act so smug and disrespectful of the Constitution and the laws.

[tuckerndfw]

And, the corruption continues . . .

Richard Nixon must be rolling in his grave.

I surely hope that the next administration devotes much of their time to seeking prosecutions of the Bush Mafia.

[donnie900]

They don't wanna figure it out. Thats what people are realizing. They're just a buncha bullshyyt. As if you needed to be reminded of it again, ya dumb shyyts. Remember Clinton? Huh?

Unbelievable. I just want yaz to know that in a nuclear war I'm gonna be sit'n the same place I always was.

[junogoose]

Randalds, do you get a stipend as a member of gop's glib cheerleaders squad? or are so gullible as to believe this administration is working in your best interest? it has to be one or the other. not both.

[junogoose]

"They don't wanna figure it out. Thats what people are realizing. They're just a buncha bullshyyt. As if you needed to be reminded of it again, ya dumb shyyts. Remember Clinton? Huh?" ...


Nothing better than an angry liberal? Randalds. Meet donnie900, your fellow angry and incomprehensible neocon.

[ioweign]

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked in January to resolve the legal dispute, but he has not yet ruled on the issue.

Alberto (I know nothing, Schultz (Hogans Heroes)) Gonzales was asked a legal question 6 months ago! The question was probably sent to the legal eagles at GITMO to come up with an answer or he has been reading these comment sections for a good sounding answer from the conservative crowd!

[sparks224]

"Nothing better than an angry liberal? Randalds. Meet donnie900, your fellow angry and incomprehensible neocon."???
Posted by junogoose

Lets get one thing straight here junogoose, neo-cons are conservative. Neo-con is short for neo-conservative.

[mcvet]

If anyone is an "absurdity for the ages" it is that old, bald, dumb Liberal Waxman who should have been kicked out on his keester decades ago. He, like Carter, Clinton, Pelosi, Reid and Kennedy are symptomatic of the problems we face -they are most assuredly not the solution - whether you hate Republicans or not.
Posted by USA1881 at 03:18 PM : Jun 23, 2007
+ report abuse

Typical Fascist!! ROFLMAO You don't have a defense for the garbage being dumped on the American People by your Fuhrer or the Gestapo Head so??? You attack the elected representative of your neighbors and fellow citizens. God but you people are so simple minded and disgusting... and you wonder why you're hated by the entire planet!! ROFLMAO If we do not reject Nazi's like these, IF we do not start going to that which has ALWAYS made us strong, our ability to listen to and compromise with each other, we will continue to sink into third world status. Sieg Heil Bush!!!

[donnie900]

I'll talk to de big vagggina in de sky fer you guyz. I'll put in a good werd fer yaz..

[david1737]

USA1881

You have the nerve to even mention spending!

FYI...Since Bush took office this is what we've seen:


"an increase of $3.1 trillion dollars since January 20, 2001. And that amounts to a jump of 54% during Mr. Bush's watch.

If you wanted to pay it off, dividing it equally among the U.S. population (estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 302,103,675), it would come to $29,245.82 for every man, woman and child.

So it's not really hard to understand why Mr. Bush almost never mentions it.

The National Debt has gone up more on his watch than under any other president."

And Bush still insists on giving tax cuts to the richest in America!!!

Tax cut and Spend, Spend, Spend!!! Good plan.

[donnie900]

Sha pffffft! Just money..

[hungry1968]

Unbelievable. I just want yaz to know that in a nuclear war I'm gonna be sit'n the same place I always was.
Posted by donnie900 at 03:29 PM : Jun 23, 2007

In the corner, on a stool, with a dunce cap on?

[donnie900]

Sha pfffffft! In a basement pal. Far away from youz.. Wit a buncha supermodels. Smoke'n doobies.. De only game in town.

[donnie900]

.. wit a viking hat on.

[bluestardad]

THIS ADMINISTRATION IS GOING TO STONE WALL UNTIL THEY ARE OUT OF OFFICE THEN AMERICA WILL FIND OUT JUST HOW DEEP IN THE DEPTHS OF EVIL THEY WERE AND HUNT THEM DOWN AND BRING THEM TO JUSTICE!

[cofmanaaron]

It's official: The republican party's main platform is the destruction of democracy and the institution of a dictatorship. Cheney's argument is a total load. 'I don't have to follow this law because I say that I am exempt from this law'. And Bush supports it! Hey why don't I just kill a baby in her crib and say I didn't commit a crime because if I say I'm not a 'person' or 'entity', then I can't be guilty! All you conservatives make me sick. You are the scum of the Earth. Worse, you are trying to destroy America. All this calling us traitors and really, if you had lived in Revolutionary times or around WW2, you would be hanged as a Tory or a Nazi sympathyzer. Any person I ever meet now who claims to be a republican I'll say to them: YOU'RE A FASCIST AND A TRAITOR, GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY THAT YOU ARE DESECRATING, AND THAT GOS FOR ALL THE REPS ON THIS SITE TOO.

[donnie900]

You call this democracy? A buncha fat punks? Wit der dorks hang'n out? A buncha snotty byytches? Represent'n poverty wearing mink coats and driving mercedes? Shut de ***** up. Unbelievable.

Democracy died 30 years ago.

[donnie900]

You've been drafted, pal. Yer in a army.. wearing yer stripes. And yer too stupid to realize it.

You were drafted the minute you were born here.

[jolsonbear]

George Bush should never have been allowed to run for President. He's not even legally an American---He's from Texas!!!

[starleo146]

I will never forget his smirk on his face when he won in 2004 and he said this is my capital and I'm going to spend it. Boy did he spend it, got his own supreme court, justice dept.had republican congress and senate never had but 1 veto till the dem. just got elected and he's vetoed everything that got enough votes to pass. This is the plan and he is sticking to it. The only veto was on stem cell research when he had complete control.

[starleo146]

He (Cheney) stopped sending any documents in 2002 when did he have that oil exec meeting and refused to send any papers on that all the memos during the Iraq war all this just doesn't add up they are hiding a lot and do not want anything to come out. I'm going to see if they will get away with this Nixon thought he would and look what happened to him he tried. to withhold those tapes.

[drummer94]

So HalliCheney is flippin-off his puppe,er boss now. Doesn't an "executive order" come from the prez.? That is one arrogant s.o.b. And how come we never see him?

[homespunlady]

Makes me wonder how the nation would have acted if Nixon REFUSED to turn over those incriminating tapes.
He at least had the conscience to feel guilty enough to leave BEFORE besmirching the Presidency and for a LOT LESS CRIMINAL ACTIVITY than the current administration.
Now it seems to Be a game of "chicken" as to how far down the illegal activity path our executive branch can travel before there are riots in the street over it.

[starleo146]

Let me ask any of you that might know did the judiciary committee ask Gonzales this question of executive Branch? Who told Cheney he is not part of the executive branch? There is a connection Bush wouldn't back down on Gonzales and he is in Cheney's corner DUH!!! You know this is worse than watergate and that traumatised this country when it all comes out it will be something I think.

[starleo146]

Let me ask any of you that might know did the judiciary committee ask Gonzales this question of executive Branch? Who told Cheney he is not part of the executive branch? There is a connection Bush wouldn't back down on Gonzales and he is in Cheney's corner DUH!!! You know this is worse than watergate and that traumatised this country when it all comes out it will be something I think.