Cheney's office now says President and VP are distinguished from "agencies" subject to oversight [View All]

Cheney Aide Explains Stance on Classified Material

By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 27, 2007; Page A05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602052.html?hpid=topnews

Vice President Cheney's office offered its first public written explanation yesterday for its refusal to comply with an executive order regulating the handling of classified material, arguing that the order makes clear that the vice president is not subject to the oversight system it creates for federal agencies.

In a letter to Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Cheney chief of staff David S. Addington wrote that the order treats the vice president the same as the president and distinguishes them both from "agencies" subject to the oversight provisions of the executive order.

Addington did not repeat a separate argument that has been previously advanced by Cheney's office: that it is not strictly an executive branch agency but also shares legislative functions because the vice president presides over the Senate. That argument has drawn ridicule in recent days from Democrats and on late-night television.

Addington suggested in his letter that it was not necessary to rehash that dispute. "Given that the executive order treats the Vice President like the President rather than like an 'agency,' " he wrote, "it is not necessary in these circumstances to address the subject of any alternative reasoning, based on the law and the legislative functions of the vice presidency. . . ." The controversy arises from the revelation last week, by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), that the vice president's office has not cooperated since 2003 with officials at the National Archives and Records Administration, who are charged with policing executive branch compliance with rules protecting classified information. In a letter to Cheney, Waxman wrote that the vice president's office had not responded to letters from the National Archives contesting its legal position.

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Kerry rejected Addington's arguments. "This legalistic response raises more questions than it purports to answer," the senator said in a statement. "I am far from satisfied with the response from David Addington, and ask again for the Vice President's office to plainly answer the question of whether he considers himself outside the realm of agency scrutiny, and what their office is doing to secure our nation's most privileged information."