A few days back, I wrote about a new constitutional doctrine that the VP is using to develop for himself what has essentially become an independent, answerable to no one 4th branch of government. It almost sounded too bizarre to be true, but at this point I'm beginning to believe that with Cheney, literally anything is possible.
Well, as it turns out, this new doctrine isn't just a hypothetical. It's actively being used by the VP to ignore laws explicitly written to cover all of the executive branch. Carpetbagger has all the details for you, including this comment:
At the risk of sounding overdramatic, it’s one of those horrifying arguments that makes me worry about the integrity of our constitutional system.
If you go back through the writings in the Federalist Papers, one thing that is abundantly clear is that the Founders expected each of the branches to work endlessly at protecting their own turf. It was something they believed we were hardwired to do. And for over 200 years, they were right.
But in this case, both the Congress and the President have failed to step up, and as a result Cheney has been able to get away with what amounts to the establishment of a new branch of government accountable to no one. An exaggeration? I honestly wish that it was, but it is not. Read for yourself:
An important legal ruling is pending over Vice President Cheney’s refusal to disclose statistics on document classification and declassification activity. The Information Security Oversight Office, which is responsible for the policy and oversight of the government’s security classification system, has asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to direct Cheney’s office to disclose these statistics.
Cheney’s office provided the information until 2002 but then stopped doing so, J. William Leonard, the director of ISOO, told U.S. News. At issue is whether the office of the vice president is an executive branch entity when it comes to supporting the activities of the president and the vice president. The reporting requirements for disclosing classification and declassification activity fall under a presidential executive order.“Basically the definition says that any entity of the executive branch that comes into possession of classified information is covered by the reporting requirements,” says Leonard. “I have my understanding of what the executive order requires, and I’m going to the attorney general to ascertain if my reading of the executive order is correct.”
However, Megan McGinn, Cheney’s deputy press secretary, says the vice president’s office is exempt.
“This matter has been thoroughly reviewed,” McGinn told U.S. News, “and it has been determined that reporting requirements do not apply to the office of the vice president, which has both legislative and executive functions.”
The issue is whether or not the office of the VP is an executive branch entity. And the answer, according to Cheney, is that it is something more than that.
In Cheney's world, the office of the vice president is more powerful than the office of the president. Think about that...
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