Cheney has served as one of the most powerful vice presidents in history, acting as a close adviser to President Bush and offering input on some of the biggest decisions made by the administration
“Constitutionally speaking, he presides over the Senate — of course he is a member of the legislative branch,” said David Rivkin, a partner at Baker Hostetler. “The only executive power the vice president has is derivative of whatever the president decides. He has to wear two hats.”
Rivkin was an aide to two vice presidents, George H.W. Bush and Dan Quayle.
To explain his position, a Cheney spokeswoman referenced an interview the vice president gave to CNN’s Larry King in July 2007. There, Cheney argued he was part of both the executive and legislative branches — being a presidential adviser as well as a National Security Council member, but also receiving his paycheck from the Senate.
“The vice president is sort of a weird duck in the sense that you do have some duties that are executive and some [that] are legislative,” said Cheney. “In terms of accountability, I’m accountable to [President George W. Bush].”
The refusal by Cheney’s staff to cooperate with ISOO sparked Waxman to write a letter to Cheney last summer questioning whether that was wise, given his office’s history of security breaches.
The matter was also referred by Congress to the Justice Department. But the department passed on following up, citing Bush’s belief that the vice president and his staff were not part of the executive branch and did not have to follow the president’s own executive order.
Cheney’s contention led to theater on Capitol Hill last summer. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) introduced an amendment to the Financial Services spending bill that proposed stripping the OVP of its executive-branch funding. The measure failed by eight votes.
Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.), one of two Republicans who voted for the amendment, still stands by his vote.
“If you say you’re not a member of the executive branch, you shouldn’t be funded by the executive branch,” Jones said. “As long as you’re in office, you have a responsibility to show how you utilize your position.”
But despite Congress’s tough talk, Cheney has managed to keep his funding and hold onto his records. The question now is whether his unique position will survive into the next administration.
Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists, who has battled with OVP to release more information, thinks not.
“Vice President Cheney won the battles over non-disclosure, but I believe he has lost the war,” said Aftergood. “His position has become an object of public ridicule.”
Rivkin disagrees. Cheney’s stance was necessary for the executive branch, he said.
“There has always been a grander debate on whether accommodation between the two political branches is the path to choose or it is better to stand on one’s prerogatives,” said Rivkin. “You need to preserve the ability of future vice presidents and presidents to assert their prerogatives.”
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