Separation of Powers
Cheney Argument Moot
Is Dick Cheney a member of the legislative branch, or isn’t he?
The White House says the answer is moot, the New York Times reports.
The vice president has refused to comply with a presidential order permitting the National Archives to oversee classified data, saying his legislative role as Senate president makes him exempt from the order. Critics pointed out that the position appears to conflict with Cheney’s frequent reliance on executive privilege in other disputes.
The White House now maintains that Cheney wasn’t required to comply with the order in the first place, because the directive placed him on an equal footing with the president.
