Lawsuit: Prevent Cheney from withholding, destroying documents on his exit from office

Nick Langewis
Raw Story
Monday, Sept 8, 2008

Historians and scholars are among those joining a lawsuit aimed at preventing the Bush administration from destroying or withholding documents related to the role of the “most influential vice president in U.S. history,” Dick Cheney, in forming public policy, the Washington Post reports in its Monday edition.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is expected to file the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday to assert the requirement to preserve the documents in question under the post-Watergate Presidential Records Act of 1978, contrary to loopholes engineered and statements made during Cheney’s time in office.

Expected to be named as defendants are Vice President Cheney, the executive offices of Cheney and President Bush, the National Archives and chief archivist Allen Weinstein.

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“I’m concerned that they may not be preserved,” said Stanley Kutler, constitutional scholar and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin Law School. “Whether they’ve been zapped already, we don’t know.”

“I think you’d have to be very worried about it,” added former vice president Walter Mondale. “Under Bush and Cheney, they’ve used every opportunity to assert executive privilege.”

“The Office of the Vice President currently follows the Presidential Records Act and will continue to follow the requirements of the law, which includes turning over vice presidential records to the National Archives at the end of the term,” Cheney spokesperson Jamie Hennigan said. One worry on the part of Kutler and organizations such as the American Historical Association and the Society of American Archivists, however, is that Vice President Cheney’s famous assertion that his office is not part of the Executive Branch, along with a 2001 executive order that seemingly narrows the scope of documents subject to the 1978 law to possibly exclude legislative records and others deemed “non-executive,” will cause some documents to be withheld.

“It horrifies me as a citizen to think our government can operate in total secrecy during the administration and then, after the administration, remain in secrecy,” said George Mason University professor and expected plaintiff Martin J. Sherwin.

“When a vice president is sitting there in the West Wing and participating at the highest levels in the work of the executive branch,” added constitutional scholar Joel K. Goldstein, “it’s a little bit anomalous to say you’re not part of the executive branch.”

More can be read at the Washington Post.

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10 Responses to “Lawsuit: Prevent Cheney from withholding, destroying documents on his exit from office”

1. yaaaa Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 1:49 pm

   You better believe it brothers and sisters. But I know you won’t until its too late. If you are in the know please do what you can to follow me here. . . .

   Tons and tons of barak obama supporters are in the dark. (not that mcain supporters are in the light) But follow me here. Ask obama supporters what the #1 reason is they like or love obama. And they will 9 times out of 10 respond with, “Well we’ve had the bush’s forever and we need change.” Of course we do of course. But after they answer then you can “pull the rug out from under them” by merely informing them that the same man pulling Bush seniors strings involving foreign and domestic policy is the exact same man pulling obama’s strings. They will respond with, “what waht what” prove it. And then all you have to do is utter Brezinski’s name and watch them hit the floor.

   But this will be no good if you are talking or informing someone who is living in the dark. It only works on educated citezens and boy will it work. Then after that turn them onto infowars.com and what not.

   Hope this helps I am so fudging mad–GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

2. dondon Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

   Remember that fire in the Old Executive Office Bldg, this year, whut U think ole Dirty Dick was burnin’ besides the Constitution???

3. Stephen Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 3:31 pm

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   Our site contains: a top infowar video list; top patriots; toparticles for 2008; most viewed news items today section; centralcolumn with updated news daily. The site is one of the best on the net

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4. JB Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

   It’s amazing that we elected these nazi’s who don’t want us to know what they are doing in office.

5. Hartwood Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 4:46 pm

   I wouldn’t say we elected these evil cocksuckers. The voting booths have been known to be rigged. Anyway… the elite world powers/globalists are going to put in office the person(s) that will get the job done for their NWO.

6. mark Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 5:52 pm

   cheney needs a medal for making so many peoples lives miserable and so few lives great

7. Doc Holliday Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

   I think I might just want to go to hell so that I can follow Bush/Cheney there to kick their ass!

8. Roy Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

   LAWSUIT ?
   what a cartoon.as if these guys are going to follow any rules of law

9. Roy Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 10:52 pm

   IF and I do mean IF
   george and old deadeye let us have our little old election,
   what makes anyone think they will vacate their offices ?
   prosecution for their crimes requires capture first. who is going to prevent them from being out of the country when it’s time to turn over the reigns?
   they are so absolutely criminal, I wouldn’t expect anything in the realm of “normak” from anyone in this administration.
   we mean absolutely nothing to them, and they are always ready to prove it ! SCREW US !!

10. blindboy Says:
    September 9th, 2008 at 3:03 am

    Agree w/Roy. What makes anyone think they’re going anywhere?

    http://blindboybroadcasting.podomatic.com