Cheney refuses to report classification activity

[edward]

For the third year in a row the Office of Vice President Dick Cheney has refused to disclose data on its classification and declassification activity, in an apparent violation of an executive order issued by President Bush.

"The Office of the Vice President (OVP), the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), and the Homeland Security Council (HSC) failed to report their data to ISOO this year," the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) noted in its new 2005 Annual Report to the President (pdf) (at page 9, footnote 1).

The Office of the Vice President has declined to report such data since 2002. Yet it is clear that disclosure is not optional.

http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

What kind of hold does this man have on the current administration that he is allowed to carry out such outrageous acts. The man can classify his own actions and conduct at will. Yet he does not report that he has classified anything.

 

[SOS2008]

Imagine that, coming from Cheney (A.K.A. "sneer"). As a side note, I saw a photo of him the other day in which he was actually smiling, and he still looked like a dog about to attack.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13011331/ --

White House seeks to block NSA lawsuits
Feds claim defending domestic surveillance program would expose secrets

Associated Press
May 27, 2006

...In papers filed late Friday, Justice Department lawyers said it would be impossible to defend the legality of the spying program without disclosing classified information that could be of value to suspected terrorists.

Riiight, they classify everything, like what color the sky is, what their names are, etc. Terrorists schmerroists. Negroponte -- It would be fine with me if he and other Gestapo brethren like Gonzalez did resign.

For decades, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been required to seek court approval before using electronic surveillance on Americans. That was not done by the NSA in the program at issue, but President Bush has said the eavesdropping was made legal by a congressional resolution passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Shayana Kadidal, an attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, called the administration’s motion “undemocratic.”

I would use a word other than "undemocratic." Try fascist.

Ample safeguards could be put in place to allow the case to continue without disclosing classified information, he said. The center has also argued that the court already has enough information to decide whether the program was legal.

Of course, but that would ruin everything and then they could no longer spy on innocent Americans along with the entire world.

 

[edward]

It seems almost as if a secret shadowy group has written their own extra-constitution and the real United Sates Cnstitution has ended up in their paper shredders.

Under this new "Classified" Constitution Cheney has authorized the corporate world to run the NSA and the CIA.

The truth may eventually set us free, but first it is going to scare the bejeeses out of us.

 

[Gokul43201]

Just out of curiosity, is this (refusal to report to ISOO) unprecedented among Veeps ?

 

[edward]

Just out of curiosity, is this (refusal to report to ISOO) unprecedented among Veeps ?

As far as I can determine it is unprecedented, unless you count the past years that he has refused. Or if you count the unprcedented law suit Cheney fought against the Government Accountability Office in regards to his secret meeting with the big oil executives. This guy is accountable to absolutely no one.

Cheney, who from the start resisted all efforts to disclose the inner workings of a task force devising energy policy. He defeated an unprecedented lawsuit by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to unveil that task force and carried his fight successfully to the Supreme Court.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002962226_cheney30.html

WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration has dramatically accelerated the classification of information as "top secret" or "confidential," one office is refusing to report on its annual activity in classifying documents: the office of Vice President Dick Cheney.

A standing executive order, strengthened by President Bush in 2003, requires all agencies and "any other entity within the executive branch" to provide an annual accounting of their classification of documents. More than 80 agencies have collectively reported to the National Archives that they made 15.6 million decisions in 2004 to classify information, nearly double the number in 2001, but Cheney insists he is exempt.

 

[SOS2008]

As far as I can determine it is unprecedented, unless you count the past years that he has refused. Or if you count the unprcedented law suit Cheney fought against the Government Accountability Office in regards to his secret meeting with the big oil executives. This guy is accountable to absolutely no one.


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002962226_cheney30.html

It is so obvious that Bush/Cheney are among the worst, if not the biggest power-grabbing !%@*&#! in our history, it amazes me how many people remain supportive of these %#@!*&!. Let's all start sending letters to them as follows:

This is to inform you that the United States of America is a republic, NOT a dictatorship or monarchy. "We the people" just want to make sure you are aware of this.

 

[edward]

It gets worse

Here is another victory for the Cheney/Bush cabal. It appears that the Jack Booted Thugs, that Reagan used to mention when referring to totalitarian leaders, are now in the Whitehouse.

High court trims whistleblower rights

The Supreme Court rules public employees don't have free speech rights for what they say as part of their jobs.
By Compiled from staff, wire reports
Published May 31, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court scaled back protections for government workers who blow the whistle on official misconduct Tuesday, a 5-4 decision in which new Justice Samuel Alito cast the deciding vote.

In a victory for the Bush administration, justices said the 20-million public employees do not have free-speech protections for what they say as part of their jobs.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/31/Worldandnation/High_court_trims_whis.shtml

 

[SOS2008]

Domestic Terrorists

Here is another victory for the Cheney/Bush cabal. It appears that the Jack Booted Thugs, that Reagan used to mention when referring to totalitarian leaders, are now in the Whitehouse.


http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/31/Worldandnation/High_court_trims_whis.shtml

Bush gets executive privilege while whistleblowers get the shaft:

Invoking Secrets Privilege Becomes a More Popular Legal Tactic by U.S.
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: June 4, 2006

WASHINGTON, June 3 — Facing a wave of litigation challenging its eavesdropping at home and its handling of terror suspects abroad, the Bush administration is increasingly turning to a legal tactic that swiftly torpedoes most lawsuits: the state secrets privilege.

...The privilege has been asserted by the Justice Department more frequently under President Bush than under any of his predecessors — in 19 cases, the same number as during the entire eight-year presidency of Ronald Reagan, the previous record holder, according to a count by William G. Weaver, a political scientist at the University of Texas at El Paso.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/washington/04secrets.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

I'm not yet a member of the ACLU, but I think I'll get on that ASAP. And then hope the elections in 2006 aren't rigged, or I fear we will see the fullness of a police state at that time...

 

[pallidin]

That's it, I'm running for Pres.
After all, my occassional immoralities and heavy-handed egotism seems to qualify me quite well.

 

[edward]

By Peter Szekely

WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel examining the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program backed away on Tuesday from plans to order top telephone companies to answer whether they gave call records to a U.S. spy agency.

A frustrated Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter said he agreed to defer his earlier plans to subpoena telephone executives after Vice President Dick Cheney said they would be precluded on national security grounds from answering questions about the reported disclosure of call records.

http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=telecomm&storyID=nN06189241

This is getting bizzare. Cheney is indicating that telephone company executives may hold confidential information and not be required to reveal it to the senate Judiciary Committee. It is evident that the Vice President of this country makes the deciscions on intel matters.

I am concerened about what this administration has become and where all of this secrecy may lead us. This has gone far beyond fighting terrorism. Cheney has some deeply rooted ulterior motives when he would place his trust in big businesses above that of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

 

[scott1]

Isn't apart of his job to keep things classifed? It also says that he won't disclose it because of an executive order issued by President Bush. Isn't Bush his boss so he can't disclose it if the president can't?

 

[Gokul43201]

If you are responding to a specific post, please quote that post.

Isn't apart of his job to keep things classifed?

Cheney's? I believe his job does include making decisions on what gets classified. I don't believe he has the authority to declassify data though.

It also says that he won't disclose it because of an executive order issued by President Bush.

Who won't disclose what? And what's the "it" that says this?

Isn't Bush his boss so he can't disclose it if the president can't?

Possibly...depends on what this "it" is.

 

[scott1]

The information is it.

 

[pallidin]

My thoughts:

Executive branch "classification" is a privilege with "conditions"
That is, the classification is completely legal on initial issuence, but subject, at any time, to revocation by the congressional oversite intelligence committee or other pertinant congressional entities.

 

[pallidin]

Where it get's weird is when the "classification" is stated to be judically based. Congress has no direct authority for revocation.

 

[edward]

My thoughts:

Executive branch "classification" is a privilege with "conditions"
That is, the classification is completely legal on initial issuence, but subject, at any time, to revocation by the congressional oversite intelligence committee or other pertinant congressional entities.

Cheney is not giving any committe anything period. He claims that Bush has given him the authority to classify and declassify anything and also to refuse to disclose information to any government agency.

That is the problem.

 

[Skyhunter]

Isn't apart of his job to keep things classifed? It also says that he won't disclose it because of an executive order issued by President Bush. Isn't Bush his boss so he can't disclose it if the president can't?

Your fishing here scott1.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0605270039may27,1,1588921.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Despite an executive order signed by President Bush in 2003 requiring all agencies or "any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information" to report on its activities, the vice president's office maintains that it has no legal obligation to report on its classification decisions.

The activity report is for his boss, he is maintaining that since he also has legislative duties that he is not subject to executive branch rules.

Is that like being above the law?

 

[scott1]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0605270039may27,1,1588921.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

I don't have access to that article. Is there another article?

 

[Skyhunter]

I don't have access to that article. Is there another article?

Try this one.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/05/isoo-ovp.pdf

 

[edward]

Below is the recent letter sent from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter to vice president Dick Cheney. It appears that Cheney had been lobbying members of the committee without the knowledge of the committee chairman.

This is very disturbing, we have a secret government within a legitiment government running this country.

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/images/06/07/cheney.pdf