Ted Kennedy: "Vice President is breaking the law" (Copy of Constitution for Cheney)

Hissyspit

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Tue Jun-26-07 02:58 PM
Original message

Ted Kennedy: "Vice President is breaking the law" (Copy of Constitution for Cheney)

Edited on Tue Jun-26-07 03:08 PM by Hissyspit

Via E-mail:

Dear -,

Right now, the Vice President of the United States is breaking the law.

Since 2003, Vice President Cheney has refused to comply with Executive Order 12958, which "prescribes a uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information."

The Vice President claims he's exempt from presidential executive orders because, as President of the Senate, he is "attached" to the legislative branch. But the Senate has even more stringent regulations on the handling of classified material -- even more rules that the Vice President hasn't followed. In typical fashion, the White House will only say that this is an "interesting constitutional question that people can debate."

Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution clearly states:

The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected ...

It's time to remind the Vice President that he can't ignore our nation's laws. We're putting together a special copy of the U.S. Constitution just for him -- one that has the 39 original signatures along with all of ours. Add your name today and send a message to Dick Cheney:

http://www.democraticmajority.com/cheney

The Bush Administration refuses to hold itself accountable for the protection of our national security, and Vice President Cheney is a key part of the problem. It was his office that leaked the identity of a CIA agent to the media. He's part of an Administration under investigation for using email accounts of the Republican National Committee to conduct official government business. According to the Washington Post:

Across the board, the vice president's office goes to unusual lengths to avoid transparency. Cheney declines to disclose the names or even the size of his staff, generally releases no public calendar and ordered the Secret Service to destroy his visitor logs.

...In the usual business of interagency consultation, proposals and information flow into the vice president's office from around the government, but high-ranking White House officials said in interviews that almost nothing flows out. Close aides to Cheney describe a similar one-way valve inside the office, with information flowing up to the vice president but little or no reaction flowing down.

Executive Order 12958 states that information must be properly maintained "to protect our citizens, our democratic institutions, and our participation within the community of nations." President Bush amended and endorsed this order, and Vice President Cheney's office complied with it until 2003. Effective oversight and transparency of our country's most important documents are essential to accountability and respect for the rule of law.

Under Dick Cheney's watch, some of our country's most disgraceful moments have happened -- from Guantanamo Bay to Abu Ghraib. Because of him, the Bush administration started in secrecy, marched to war in secrecy and will end in secrecy, all with great damage to our Constitution, to our government and to the American people.

Tell Vice President Cheney he's not above the Constitution. He can't rewrite the Constitution to suit himself.

http://www.democraticmajority.com/cheney

Sincerely,

Senator Edward M. Kennedy