February 15, 2006

While we're focused on how the Vice President operates within the White House, an interesting question arose in an interview between FOX News and the Vice President today. Did the Vice President exercise unilateral power to declassify national intelligence? The Vice President won't tell FOX News.

Question: Let me ask you another question. Is it your view that a vice president has the authority to declassify information?

Cheney: There is an executive order to that effect.

Question: There is.

Cheney: Yes.

Question: Have you done it?

Cheney: Well, I've certainly advocated declassification and participated in declassification decisions. The executive order --

Question: You ever done it unilaterally?

Cheney: I don't want to get into that. There is an executive order that specifies who has classification authority, and obviously focuses first and foremost on the president, but also includes the vice president.
[Cheney Interview with FOX News - 02-15-06]

A subject for the federal grand jury, no doubt. But if the Vice President unilaterally declassified national intelligence without telling the President of the United States and authorized Libby to leak the identity of a CIA operative, that might account for why President Bush so eagerly asserted he'd fire anyone who leaked the operative's name.

QUESTION: Given -- given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name?

THE PRESIDENT: That's up to --

QUESTION: And, and, do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. And that's up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts.
[President Bush Holds Press Conference Following the G8 Summit - White House - 06-10-04]

Ooops. Something happened in the White House between June 2004 and July 2005 that made the President revise his statement. No longer will he fire anyone who merely "leaked" the name. Now he will fire anyone who did it illegally.

"I think it's best if people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions," Bush said at a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts. And if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration," Bush said.
[President vows to fire anyone who committed a crime - CNN - 07-19-05]

Did the Vice President unilaterally declassify intelligence without telling the President of the United States until much later, engaging in a pattern of calling his own shots? Unilateral declassification by the Vice President might explain why the special prosecutor is not pursuing charges in the leaking of the identity of a CIA operative, but it doesn't explain why this administration has not been forth-coming with the American people on how they went about creating legal parameters for smearing people who challenged their misleading use of America's national intelligence to sell the case for war with Iraq.