Reading is Fundamental

Today, in response to a letter from Senator Kerry, the VP's lawyer David Addington appeared to back off the claim that the Vice President exists in some hitherto unknown branch of government beyond the Executive branch.

The executive order on classified national security information -- Executive Order 12958 as amended in 2003 -- makes it clear that the Vice President is treated like the President and distinguishes the two of them from "agencies." The executive order gives the ISOO, under the supervision of the Archivist of the United States, responsibility to oversee certain activities of "agencies," but not of the Vice President or the President.

So, the current fall-back position explaining why the Executive Order in question doesn't apply to Mr. Cheney is that the Vice-President is not an "agency."

There's only one problem. That's not what the Executive Order says.

PART 6--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 6.1. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

(a) "Access" means the ability or opportunity to gain knowledge of classified information.

(b) "Agency" means any "Executive agency," as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105; any "Military department" as defined in 5 U.S.C. 102; and any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information. (emphasis mine.)

It can hardly be argued that the Vice President's Office is not in possession of classified information. We've already seen the laughter accompanying the claim that it is not an entity within the executive branch. (Though now we see why they tried to claim they weren't.)

Thus, by the definitions included in the order itself, the Office of the Vice President is an "agency", and all the provisions relating to agencies apply.

Now, I didn't go to law school, like Mr. Addington. But I did, however, learn to read.