- Vice President Exempts His Office from the Requirements
for Protecting Classified Information
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- The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections
of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from
the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for
safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President
asserts that his office is not an "entity within the executive branch."
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- As described in a letter from Chairman Waxman to the
Vice President, the National Archives protested the Vice President's position
in letters written in June 2006 and August 2006. When these letters were
ignored, the National Archives wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
in January 2007 to seek a resolution of the impasse.
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- The Vice President's staff responded by seeking to abolish
the agency within the Archives that is responsible for implementing the
President's executive order. In his letter to the Vice President, Chairman
Waxman writes: "I question both the legality and wisdom of your actions.
... [I]t would appear particularly irresponsible to give an office with
your history of security breaches an exemption from the safeguards that
apply to all other executive branch officials."
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- A fact sheet prepared by Chairman Waxman describes other
instances in which the Vice President's office has sought to avoid oversight
and accountability.
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- http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1371
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