Monday, June 25, 2007
Editorial: Dick Cheney: undercover brother
Our vice president seeks to operate in secrecy. He should not be allowed to.
From the RoundTable blog
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Vice President Dick Cheney operates in a government apparently regulated by rules of his own making.
Take, for example, a presidential order that ensures the executive branch protects classified national security information. Cheney's office has declined to comply, refusing to file reports on what classified information it possesses with the National Archives and Records Administration, the office that enforces the order.
Cheney's explanation: His office is "not an entity within the executive branch."
Uh-huh.
The director of the archives administration wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in January asking him to issue a legal ruling on Cheney's assertion. Gonzales has not yet replied.
Uh-huh.
The power-hungry muscle that Cheney, by all appearances, is able to flex within the administration is mind-boggling. Worse, it is just one of many illustrations of a strong leaning toward secrecy that runs counter to basic principles of democratic governance. Cheney has demonstrated an eerie ability to get those around him to come along for the cloaked ride.
Cheney's desire to circumvent the executive order's purpose -- to "prescribe a uniform system for classifying, safeguarding and declassifying national security information" -- raises serious questions about his ability to protect national security secrets. Already, his track record is shaky.
In a letter to Cheney on June 21, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, outlined security breaches within Cheney's office:
"In May 2006, an official in your office pled guilty to passing classified information to individuals in the Philippines. In March 2007, your former chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, was convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice and false statements for denying his role in disclosing the identity of a covert CIA agent. In July 2003, you reportedly instructed Mr. Libby to disclose information from a National Intelligence Estimate to Judith Miller, a former New York Times reporter."
Enough with the "undercover brother." Cheney cannot be permitted to operate above the law -- or shape it to suit his twisted need for secrecy.
