The Fourth Branch of Government

I've been working a lot lately and haven't had much time to post, but this caught my eye a couple of days ago and I saved it until I could comment on it. Not that I have time now since I have to get up in five hours, but if I waited any longer it probably would no longer be relevant - hell, I don't know if this has already been discussed ad nauseam, but here it is.

Dick Cheney's back in the news... at least in the background behind Sarah Palin and the financial crisis and a gazillion dollar bailout and McThuselah's face falling off a bit more every time I see him. And the reason The Man Who Wouldn't Die™ is in the news? A federal judge ruled that Mr. Secret Fourth Branch of Government isn't so Fourth Branch and has to keep records from his time in office.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the records are not excluded from preservation under Presidential Records Act, which gives the national archivist responsibility over the custody of and access to the records at the end of a president's final term.

The Bush administration had sought a narrow interpretation of the act to allow for fewer materials to be preserved by the National Archives.

"Defendants were only willing to agree to a preservation order that tracked their narrowed interpretation of the PRA's statutory language," Kollar-Kotelly said in her order. This position "heightens the Court's concern" that some records will not be preserved without an injunction.

Cheney chief of staff David Addington has told Congress that the vice president belongs to neither the executive nor legislative branch of government, AP reported. Instead, he said, the office is attached by the Constitution to Congress. The vice president presides over the Senate.

Of course, I doubt the paper shredders in the Vice President's office will cool down any time soon. And Addington's statement strikes me as odd - but I suppose contradictory legalese is his forte. How can you claim to be protected under executive privilege while denying that you are part of the executive branch?

And let's not forget to give a nice round of applause for the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) for filing the lawsuit in the first place. You can make a tax deductible donation at their site.

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Read the Case Opinion here and the Case Order here.

You can click on the Cheney cartoon above to view Mark Fiore's animation from July 1, 2007.