"the vice president’s office and residence needs to be treated like crime scenes"

[ProSense]

Cheney Claims Power to Decide His Public Records

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 18, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dick Cheney's lawyers are asserting that the vice president alone has the authority to determine which records, if any, from his tenure will be handed over to the National Archives when he leaves office in January.

That claim is in federal court documents asking that a lawsuit over the records be dismissed. Cheney leaves office Jan. 20, potentially taking with him millions of records that might otherwise become public record.

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Cheney is being sued by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group that is trying to ensure that no presidential records are destroyed or handled in a way that makes them unavailable to the public.

The 1978 Presidential Records Act requires all presidential and vice presidential records to be transferred to the National Archives immediately upon the end of the president's last term of office and gives the archivist responsibility to preserve and control access to presidential records. The law ended the tradition of private ownership of presidential papers, opening White House records to the public and historians.

But the law carves out exceptions for personal or purely partisan records.

National Archives officials have said records of Cheney's dealings with the Republican National Committee would not require preservation under the law. As of November, it had not made a final determination on the status of Cheney's records produced when he acts as president of the Senate, which he says are exempt.

But the law is unclear on how disagreements will be decided about the preservation of disputed records, said Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists.

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Why Shouldn’t Dick Cheney Decide For Himself Which Of His Papers You Get To See?

By Spencer Ackerman 12/19/08 10:22 AM

This is from a U.S. District court filing from Dick Cheney’s office:

”The vice president alone may determine what constitutes vice presidential records or personal records, how his records will be created, maintained, managed and disposed, and are all actions that are committed to his discretion by law…”

I’m not a lawyer, but I’m sure the legal grounds for such a contention are as sound as those previously employed by Cheney lawyer David Addington for such run-of-the-mill executive-branch behavior as warrantless surveillance, torture, and indefinite detention. Oh, wait, Cheney is his own branch of government.

Charlie Homans is right: the vice president’s office and residence needs to be treated like crime scenes. Cordon it off with yellow tape and make the Cheneys get a room at a Red Roof Inn until it’s secured. Cheney has proven for eight years that he will stop at nothing to avoid accountability. This is the public-disclosure version of shooting an old man in the face.

[Sebass1271]

1. When will I see on TV protesters in front of the VP house

chanting "get out of Biden's house"???? What, Democrats can't treat repubs the same way we were treated? Too bad i don't live in Washintong DC.. otherwise I would be there holding up my sign a loooong time ago..

[ProSense]

2. No more protest,

it's time for Cheney to be prosecuted.

[Mira]

6. He should have been arrested right after his admissions. He should

be locked up as I type.
A Criminal flourishing among us. I want to live long enough to see him put away.

[EFerrari]

3. They are crimes scenes and we've known that for years.

K&R

[Uncle Joe]

4. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, ProSense.

[karynnj]

5. 8 years ago could you imagine this being said of a US VP?

"Charlie Homans is right: the vice president’s office and residence needs to be treated like crime scenes. Cordon it off with yellow tape and make the Cheneys get a room at a Red Roof Inn until it’s secured. Cheney has proven for eight years that he will stop at nothing to avoid accountability. This is the public-disclosure version of shooting an old man in the face."

This completely outdoes Spiro Agnew