Cheney claims power to decide his own case

[G_j]

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Cheney_I_am_law_1219.html


Cheney claims power to decide his own case
John Byrne
Published: Friday December 19, 2008

I am the law.

That's the message Vice President Dick Cheney appeared to send in a little-noticed court filing last week, in which his lawyers asserted that the vice president alone has the authority to determine which records are turned over to the National Archives after he leaves office. But the law exempts "personal and partisan" records, which Cheney's lawyers said he will be the sole decider upon.

"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," according to a filing by Cheney's office with the court hearing the case Dec. 8, noted by the AP's Pamela Hess.

"National Archives officials have said records of Cheney's dealings with the Republican National Committee would not require preservation under the law," Hess notes. "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."

Steven Aftergood, government secrecy expert and editor of the blog, Secrecy News, told Hess the law is unclear as to who is supposed to determine what records can be kept as private property.

"Decisions that are made in the next couple of weeks may prove irrevocable," he said. "If records are held from the archivist now they may never be recovered."

Cheney was ordered to preserve all records in September while the case progressed.


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[aquart]

1. Ah, the godly veep. Crush him like a used car.

[Mist]

2. Now there's an image! I like it. nt

[jimshoes]

3. Suppose they just arrest him and seize everything

That way it can be sorted out judiciously and methodically. Man sized safe and all. Criminal bastard.

[southerncrone]

4. Yeah, but most of those prolly burnt up in the little

incendiary fest in his office a few weeks back.

He is truly the most vile individual on the planet.