Dick Cheney gets his way or your fired

J. William Leonard, director of the Archives' Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), is being forced out of his position by Dick Cheney after 34 years of service.

The unit monitors the handling of government secrets and is responsible to the President for policy and oversight of the Government-wide security classification system and the National Industrial Security Program. They receive their authority from Executive Orders 12958 "Classified National Security Information" and 12829 "National Industrial Security Program", as amended.

What did Mr. Leonard do to draw Cheney’s ire? The veteran National Archives official challenged claims by the Office of Vice President (OVP) to be exempt from federal rules governing classified information.

Once again, this administration thinks it is exempt from the rules that everyone else must follow. And Cheney’s petulance will force someone out of his livelihood because that person had the temerity to apply the rules to the Office of the Vice President.

Mr. Leonard’s efforts touched off a firestorm—and a counter-strike by Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington, who tried to wipe out Leonard's job.

Mr. Leonard has been described by National Archivist Allen Weinstein as "the gold standard of information specialists in the federal government". But this glowing accolade will fall on the deaf ears of Mr. Cheney.

Cheney’s little snit will cause this nation to lose the accumulated knowledge and experience of the type of person this country strives for to fill any and all of its governmental offices.

Here’s a bit of background on how this travesty came to pass.

After 2002, OVP stopped reporting to the National Archives and Records, the depository for government records that helps keep democracy alive by allowing U.S. citizens oversight to the course of business conducted by the U.S. Federal government, which became an independent federal agency in 1985. After several routine attempts to do a review of the OVP they said ‘they weren't really subject to our reviews’ said Mr. Leonard. The wall that the White House had built around itself remains impermeable unless they want you in.

The ISOO produces an annual report of government offices and the Chicago Tribune saw an asterisk next to the entry for the OVP which stated that it contained no information from OVP. The Chicago Tribune decided to investigate.

A spokesperson from the OVP made public the idea that because they have both legislative and executive functions, that requirement doesn't apply to them. Mr. Leonard then wrote a letter to the Attorney General [asking for a ruling that Cheney's office had to comply.] Then, shortly after that there were email recommendations from OVP to a National Security Council task force to change the executive order that would effectively abolish Mr. Leonard’s office. Who wrote the emails? David Addington, fall guy for the Vice President, because you know he did not do this on his own, not with such a controlling boss like Dick Cheney.

It turns out that the OVP stopped cooperating with the ISOO around the same time the Valerie Plame case became public.

Is this the kind of power and spitefulness we want from our politicians? Cheney is acting like a child here. “You are not the boss of me!”. What a brat!!