Blogged by Brad from Atlanta…
Following on subpoenas issued to both Dick Cheney and the White House earlier today on the warrantless wire-tapping issue, the Summer of Accountability continues as the heat grows on both Cheney and Gonzales in the matter of the refusal by Cheney’s office to provide reports on the handling of classified information.
A statement just sent to The BRAD BLOG (posted in full at the end of this article) by the offices of Representatives Conyers, Waxman, and Clay calls on Gonzales to explain his position on the National Archives request for Cheney to comply with an Executive Order requiring all Executive Branch offices to detail their handling of classified material and his subsequent refusal.
Cheney has claimed, in his failure to file appropriate reports for the last three years, that he didn’t need to because the Office of the Vice President is not a part of the Executive Branch (that, despite their having complied with the order in years prior to 2003, when it seems they leaked the classified identify of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame).
In the statement, Waxman says Cheney’s response is “absurd,” Conyers calls it “highly dubious,” and Clay characterizes the matter as “a breathtaking act of arrogance” in which Cheney is making a mockery of the law and our system of checks and balances.”
The complete statement from Waxman, Conyers, and Clay follows in full below…
WASHINGTON, DC – Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), and Oversight and Government Reform Information Policy Subcommittee Chairman Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO) today called upon Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to explain his role in the Vice President’s extraordinary attempt to remove his office from executive branch oversight and the subsequent refusal to comply with procedures to protect classified information in the Office of the Vice President (OVP). The Chairmen specifically called on Gonzales to report on the status of his long-overdue response to the National Archives’ request to rule on the legality of VP Cheney’s actions.
An Executive Order signed by President Bush in 2003 directs the National Archives to oversee a uniform, government-wide system for protecting national security information. For six months, the National Archives has sought unsuccessfully to receive clarification from the attorney general regarding the OVP’s contention that it is exempt from the order because it is not an entity within the executive branch of our government
“The Vice President’s claims are absurd, and they’re part of a pattern of efforts to evade needed oversight of his office and actions,” said Rep. Waxman.
“Once again, we appear to have an attorney general who is too close to the White House for his own – or the people’s – good,” said Rep. Conyers. “The Vice President’s refusal to allow meaningful oversight of the handling of government secrets is very troubling. That this decision was apparently based on the highly dubious legal theory that the Office of the Vice President is not part of the executive branch is alarming. The handling of classified information, especially in a time of war, is a matter of the utmost importance, and those who are entrusted with our nation’s secrets bear extraordinary responsibility to use and handle those materials in the best interests of the American people.”
“It is a breathtaking act of arrogance for the Vice President to thumb his nose at and retaliate against an agency charged with enforcing an Executive Order from his own Administration,” said Rep. Clay. “In my opinion, the Vice President is making a mockery of the law and our system of checks and balances by suggesting his office is outside of the executive branch. I hope Attorney General Gonzales will summon the will to treat this very serious matter with the objectivity it deserves.”
The full text of the letter may be found at http://www.oversight.house.gov and at http://judiciary.house.gov/.
Cheney has been acting arrogantly, giving Congress the finger, and telling them to go fuck themselves for a long time.
Congress, for all this time, has replied, “Yes, Sir, Mr. Cheney, Sir,” and not only fucked itself, but also fucked Afghanistan, Iraq, and their own constituents here in the U.S.A.
The White House will not comply with Congressional subpoenas, and the Supreme Court won’t make them. Congress can’t even cut funds to Cheney’s office, despite Cheney declaring his office not to be part of the Executive branch, because they don’t have the votes–if they had the votes, they could easily have impeached him a long time ago.
And the reason they don’t have the votes, is because, as every BradBlog reader knows, when a Democrat wins a Presidential election, they concede to the Republican loser, when there are contested Congressional elections between Democrats and Republicans, the Democratic majority in Congress will not investigate and prefers to swear in the Republicans (the Democrats need those Republican votes in order to keep impeachment off the table), and right now most Democrats in Congress are pushing for bills that will ensure that they never have the votes to do what their constituents want, instead of what Cheney wants.
Yes, Cheney is telling Congress to go fuck itself again, and, as usual, Congress will whine and snivel a little to please the voters back home, but will, as always, do eactly what Cheney tells them to do.
They really don’t have much choice. They are as fully aware as we are that if they don’t obey Cheney, he could see that some more Congressmembers are anthraxed, arrange for them to meet with mysterious single vehicle or plane “accidents,” or order Bush to nuke Iran just to take everyone’s attention off those goddamned pieces of paper Congress wants, which, like the Constitution, are not worthy of Cheney’s time or consideration.
If Conyers wants, he can get up another petition, get a few million signatures on it, and see if the guards will let him pass it through the gates of the White House, and if not, maybe Congress can threaten to stop paying the rent there also–another empty threat.
Another day, another week, another year, another bunch of FUs from the White House and the Supreme Court to Congress and the American people, and this is supposed to be news?
I’m going over to NarcoNews to see if Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution have some more good news I can read about. And for those who haven’t seen Michael Moore’s new film, Sicko, Che Guevara’s daughter, Aleida Guevara, has a cameo in the film. Che Guevara, presente!
The Constitution, which Cheney swore to uphold, actually appears to indicate that the VP position is part of the Executive branch. It mentions VP in Article II, along with the President and words like “executive”.
Since these Congressmen are clearly aware of the absurdity of his comments and clearly aware of his high crimes against the Constitution and the nation, don’t they have some Constitutional recourse? Hmmm.
They sure do, Ellen, but I think they need to be dragged at gunpoint to bring up the articles and vote for them… maybe just by the ears, but if WE don’t do that dragging, they’ve already told us no chance they’ll go there.
All Americans are fed up with the misleading statements from Bush, Cheney, the Attorney General and the Bush Administration about this illegal program and many, many other issues.
Americans want action from the Democrats…. not talk…”Action”… which means “Impeachment”.
Once impeached the guilty party is forever band from holding any public service or government office. This would stop many of the younger Dick Cheney like participants/mentors in the Bush Adminstration from later returning to politics to again reek havoc upon our children and grandchildren lives.
It’s real simple if the Democrats want money from us common folk for the 20O8 elections…. “WE WANT ALL THE LYING B””TARDS IN THE BUSH ADMINSTRATION IMPEACHED”
G.
Just when you think things can’t get much worse:
http://www.politico.com/news/st...0607/4679.html
Now Cheney has dropped the defense that he isn’t part of the Executive Branch of government, and claims that he IS part of the Executive Branch.
That’s impossible. Neither Bush nor Cheney were ever legitimately elected. The claim that they weren’t part of the Executive Branch was the first truth to come out of the White House since January 2001. And now they’re back to lying again.
Don’t believe ’em!
When Cheney was a Vice Admiral he claimed he was not part of the Navy 🙂
He is so adorably consistent isn’t he?
Can Cheney claim “executive privilege”, if he’s not part of the executive branch…like he claims?