China Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Vice President Exempts His Office from the Requirements for Protecting Classified Information The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President asserts that his office is not an “entity within the executive branch.” As described in a letter from Chairman Waxman to the Vice President, the National Archives protested the Vice President's position in letters written in June 2006 and August 2006. When these letters were ignored, the National Archives wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in January 2007 to seek a resolution of the impasse. The Vice President's staff responded by seeking to abolish the agency within the Archives that is responsible for implementing the President's executive order. In his letter to the Vice President, Chairman Waxman writes: "I question both the legality and wisdom of your actions. ... t would appear particularly irresponsible to give an office with your history of security breaches an exemption from the safeguards that apply to all other executive branch officials." A fact sheet prepared by Chairman Waxman describes other instances in which the Vice President's office has sought to avoid oversight and accountability. Waxman's Letter to the VP Letter from the National Archives to the Attorney General Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinInsite Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 So what branch of the government is the VP part of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 So what branch of the government is the VP part of? The magical branch of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 The magical branch of course. I was going to say the secret handshake branch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Just one more year... I wonder how Bush without Cheney would have done? How in the world do you reconsile that logic and how does anyone let him get away with it. 5,000,000 missing emails are not enough it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 "On the sixth day of Hate Week... [when] the general hatred of Eurasia had boiled up into such delirium ... at just this moment it had been announced that Oceania was not after all at war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Eurasia was an ally." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baculus Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 What? how bizarre! Even this .gov kid's website demonstrates which branch the VP is a part of: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/national/executive.html That is a really odd thing for the V.P. Cheny to state: Did he mean to clarify something further? Or is he just showing his hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I want to see if anybody defends this move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I want to see if anybody defends this move. http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201291 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Color me not surprised, you have to hand it to the Bush Administration they sure do have active imaginations. I just hope to God that the next Administration fixes all that they messed up, of course that could be about a year's worth of Executive Orders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMK9973 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 When you think back at all the scary legal arguments this administration has made... Genva conventions don't apply to enamy combantants (And the President decides who is a enamy comabantant) Signing statements VP's office is not part of the executive branch Pre-emptive strikes International Jails run by Americans This is scary stuff. I truly belive that Bush thinks they are doing what is best (They are wrong, but I belive they belive it is). I also belive that they have not abused these rullings as bad as they could have. But what about the next guy. or the guy after that. The greatest thing George Washington did, is what he didn't do. He didn't utilize the full power of the presidency like he could have. He limited what the president did, and set precident that keeped the president powers in check. This adminstration has changed the rules. They have cited and claimed presidential powers to SUCH a degree, that new precident has been set, and god forbid if a president in the future decided to abuse some of these new powers. We need someone who is strong enough to roll these powers back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Don't forget all the warrantless stuff, TMK. That list is far longer than the one you provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 We need someone who is strong enough to roll these powers back. BINGO, you find me this candidate and I'll vote for him or her, all other issues aside this one seems to be the most dangerous especially considering the potential that has been created. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 So what branch of the government is the VP part of? He's going to be pissed when he sees that some joker has added him to the Whitehouse website ... http://www.whitehouse.gov/vicepresident/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Don't forget all the warrantless stuff, TMK. That list is far longer than the one you provided. Or Gonzalez: “The Constitution doesn’t say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn’t say that. It simply says the right shall not be suspended” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 These guys are a damn disgrace. And I don't mean all Republicans and I don't mean their stances on ordinary political issues - I just mean the WAY that THIS Administration goes about their business. With apologies to Animal House: dishonest, hyperlegalistic and cronyridden is no way to go through life, son. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooper Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 These guys are a damn disgrace.And I don't mean all Republicans and I don't mean their stances on ordinary political issues - I just mean the WAY that THIS Administration goes about their business. With apologies to Animal House: dishonest, hyperlegalistic and cronyridden is no way to go through life, son. Agreed. And the dems are just as big a disgrace for letting them get away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I keep remembering a cartoon I saw a long time ago. It's a press conference, but it's set on a beach. A guy in a suit is standing under bright lights, behind a podium with the Presidential seal on it. A punch of reporters are waving their arms in the air, looking agitated. Behind the speaker, is a dead whale, washed up on the beach, labeled "Watergate". A sheet, labeled "coverup" is held over the whale. Caption reads "The President has authorized me to say 'What whale?'" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I would really like to see the legal reasoning put forth to explain this one. :laugh: Either we are not getting the full picture or someone's getting REAL creative. I wonder if they are claiming the VP is a hybrid between Executive and Legislative...neither fish or fowl? :whoknows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I'm feeling inspired so I whipped this one up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DixieFlatline Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 I'd like to hear both side of the story before passing judgement cause Waxman is a jerk. But it sure doesn't look good on the face of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 It's hard to imagine what the other side is. This administration has been the most secretive in history. I think one of the more telling things is all the former aides who on leaving immediately started airng their dirty laundry and disagreements. How often do you see that? While the President is still sitting? Usually, it takes a decade before the President's men will come out and say anything bad about him or their White House. This is not the case with our current President. I fear we have only seen the tip of the iceburg in terms of damage and Congress is too timid and weak to really be of help at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief skin Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 These kinds of people are percisely why Bush is in the 20's as a favorable rating, He surrounded himself with paranoid and ignorant people which is a recipe for disaster. If Bush had any stones he would demand Cheney's resignation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 It appears they are taking the stand I suggested :laugh: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/washington/22cnd-cheney.html?ei=5088&en=1c5dfec877aba826&ex=1340164800&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1182487273-rTZG1goHjfA33UOA1acN4w A spokeswoman for Mr. Cheney, Megan McGinn, said, “We’re confident that we’re conducting the office properly under the law.” She declined to elaborate. But other officials familiar with Mr. Cheney’s view said that he and his legal adviser, David S. Addington do not believe the executive order applies to the vice president’s office because it has a legislative as well as an executive status in the Constitution. Mr. Addington did not reply in writing to Mr. Leonard’s letters, according to officials familiar with their exchanges. But Mr. Addington stated in conversations that the vice president’s office was not an “entity within the executive branch” because, under the Constitution, the vice president also plays a role in the legislative branch, as president of the Senate, able to cast a vote in the event of a tie. Mr. Cheney’s penchant for secrecy has long been a striking feature of the Bush administration, beginning with his fight to keep confidential the identities of the energy industry officials who advised his task force on national energy policy in 2001. Mr. Cheney took that dispute to the Supreme Court and won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfitzo53 Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 But other officials familiar with Mr. Cheney’s view said that he and his legal adviser, David S. Addington do not believe the executive order applies to the vice president’s office because it has a legislative as well as an executive status in the Constitution. I'm going to guess that their actual view on the matter is closer to this: "We know what we're claiming is wrong, but nobody's going to do anything about it, so we don't give a damn." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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