Cheney claims US law doesn't apply to him

June 22, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Vice President Cheney's office tried to abolish the National Archives' office after catching him circumventing the system for overseeing classified documents, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman reported Thursday.

Vice President Cheney's office tried to abolish the National Archives' office after catching him circumventing the system for overseeing classified documents, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman reported Thursday.

According to letters released by the committee, the vice president's office claims it is not an "entity within the executive branch" and was therefore exempt from rules established in a presidential order for the National Archives to oversee classified information.

After receiving repeated requests to comply by the oversight office at the National Archives, and a follow-up request to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking that he help resolve the matter, Cheney's office instead retaliated, recommending the National Archives office be disbanded, the Waxman letter said.

William Leonard, head of the National Archives office in question, told the Oversight Committee that Cheney's team attempted to get a provision in the presidential order -- which is currently being revised -- that would have prevented the National Archives from appealing to the attorney general.

UPDATE 6/23/07 6:23 PM AKDT:

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel issued the following statement regarding his amendment to cut funding for the Office of the Vice President from the bill that funds the executive branch. The legislation -- the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill -- will be considered on the floor of the House of Representatives next week.

"The Vice President has a choice to make. If he believes his legal case, his office has no business being funded as part of the executive branch. However, if he demands executive branch funding he cannot ignore executive branch rules. At the very least, the Vice President should be consistent. This amendment will ensure that the Vice President's funding is consistent with his legal arguments. I have worked closely with my colleagues on this amendment and will continue to pursue this measure in the coming days."