Legal Commentary

Judge Rules Cheney Must Preserve Records

By Jeralyn

Remember in 2003 when Vice President Dick Cheney began asserting that the Vice President is not part of the executive branch? He's been using that ever since as an excuse to be relieved from preserving documents under the Presidential Records Act.

Today, a federal judge told Cheney to preserve his records.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a setback for the Bush administration in its effort to promote a narrow definition of materials that must be safeguarded under by the Presidential Records Act.

The Bush administration's legal position "heightens the court's concern" that some records may not be preserved, said the judge.

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The ruling came in CURE's lawsuit to force members of Bush's office to preserve their records.

Cheney and the other defendants in the case "were only willing to agree to a preservation order that tracked their narrowed interpretation" of the Presidential Records Act, wrote Kollar-Kotelly.

....The administration, said the judge, wanted any court order on what records are at issue in the suit to cover only the office of the vice president, not Cheney or the other defendants in the lawsuit. ....The lawsuit stems from Cheney's position that his office is not part of the executive branch of government.

Where do our current VP candidates stand on the issue> Sarah Palin may be taking cues from Dick Cheney and refused to tell The Hill that she considers the Vice Presidency to be part of the executive branch.

Joe Biden is clear:

“Unlike Dick Cheney, Joe Biden won’t have to create a full employment plan for lawyers and scholars to clear up something that was unquestioned for about 200 years. The vice president is part of the executive branch, period. End of story,” said Biden spokesman David Wade.

What's Cheney hiding?

Aides to Cheney have used that argument at times to avoid disclosure of certain records, such as documents detailing privately paid travel taken by officials, and releasing names of the office’s employees to the federal directory known as the Plum Book. Wade said Biden would disclose those records.

“He will end the Cheney era of secrecy in the vice presidency and transparency, transparency, transparency will be the new mantra. This will be the most open and transparent administration in history,” said the Biden spokesman.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 20, 2008 (boomark / email).