Dick Cheney claims that he is not part of the executive branch and he's not part of the legislative branch. At least he's not claiming to be part of the Supreme Court (for now). So why should we care? Well there's this pesky law administered by Archives of the government called "The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978"
In the introductory explanation of the Act the web site states:
The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. ß2201-2207, governs the official records of Presidents and Vice Presidents created or received after January 20, 1981. The PRA changed the legal ownership of the official records of the President from private to public, and established a new statutory structure under which Presidents must manage their records.
And to be even clearer in a listing of specifics "Requires that Vice-Presidential records are to be treated in the same way as Presidential records."
Veep Cheney claims that he's not completely part of the Executive Branch in order to avoid any Congressional oversight and avoid turning over any documents he considers "secret", which is basically everything. Examining House member Henry Waxman's Oversight and Government Reform web page we see thread of letter from Waxman to Cheney to the National Archives to the Attorney General, it's a thrill to see government at work.
One highlight is Waxman's "Fact Sheet" titled "The Vice President's Efforts to Avoid Oversight and Accountability" in which he lists: Exepmting the Office of the Vice President from the Executive Order on Classified National Security Information; Blocking GAO Oversight; Concealing Privately-Funded Travel; Withholding Information about Vice Presidential Staff; Concealing Inforamtion about Visitors to the Vice President's Residence; Allowing Former Vice Presidents to Assert Privelege Over Documents.
Cheney is simply brilliant! There's a law stating that the President's records must be made public. The President's office being the Executive Branch leads to the obvious conclusion that to avoid compliance simply declare that you are NOT part of the Executive Branch. To top it all off Cheney proposed to eliminate the specific office at the Archives responsible for administering the Presidential Records Act. Genius!!
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