Cheney Spies On White House Staffers

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:43am

At the White House, [White House national security lawyer John] Bellinger sent Rice a blunt — and, he thought, private — legal warning. The Cheney-Rumsfeld position would place the president indisputably in breach of international law and would undermine cooperation from allied governments. …

One lawyer in his office said that Bellinger was chagrined to learn, indirectly, that Cheney had read the confidential memo and “was concerned” about his advice. Thus Bellinger discovered an unannounced standing order: Documents prepared for the national security adviser, another White House official said, were “routed outside the formal process” to Cheney, too. The reverse did not apply.

Powell asked for a meeting with Bush. The same day, Jan. 25, 2002, Cheney’s office struck a preemptive blow. It appeared to come from Gonzales, a longtime Bush confidant whom the president nicknamed “Fredo.” Hours after Powell made his request, Gonzales signed his name to a memo that anticipated and undermined the State Department’s talking points. The true author has long been a subject of speculation, for reasons including its unorthodox format and a subtly mocking tone that is not a Gonzales hallmark.

A White House lawyer with direct knowledge said Cheney’s lawyer, Addington, wrote the memo. Flanigan passed it to Gonzales, and Gonzales sent it as “my judgment” to Bush. If Bush consulted Cheney after that, the vice president became a sounding board for advice he originated himself.

Attorney General John Ashcroft “was astonished” to learn he had been pushed aside. “What the hell just happened?” Secretary of State Colin Powell asked upon learning through the media that the order had been signed. “National security adviser Condoleezza Rice, incensed, sent an aide to find out.”

Cheney Spies On White House Staffers Updated On: 6/24/07 at 09:43 AM

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:57am

This is a surprise?? The governments be syping on us for years, Patriot Act anyone?

[HDThoreau2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:57am

How about some facts on this Cheney hit piece?

A friend provided a link to some truth.


Media Outrage of the Week: Cheney is a Working Vice-President, Oh No!

[Evan Almighty]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:15am

Another one of your made up friends?

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:21am

Evan, you haven't been around long enough to know that HD and his "friend" are one and the same. That's why I always put friend in quotation marks. Some of his other personas here have been DAKIN, and CHANTICLEER148 to name just two. He's also the author of THESPIS JOURNAL, which he constantly links to.

Updated On: 6/24/07 at 10:21 AM

[HDThoreau2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:25am

The above post is totally fabricated.

While Dakin and chanticleer know one another, and I know them, we are not one in the same.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:28am

"The above post is totally fabricated."

Indeed it is.

[Evan Almighty]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 10:40am

Touche!

As a matter of fact, I don't know Chanty and Dakin. "Evan" may be new, but I am old, old, old.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 12:51pm

HD--do you support this statement from Cheney's lawyer or not?

[Cheney's] general counsel has asserted that "the vice presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch nor a part of the legislative branch," and is therefore exempt from rules governing either.

Yes or no?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 2:02pm

Wow-- talk about re-writing the constitution! Cheney may in fact be Satan, but he is Satan with Balls the size of watermelons
Updated On: 6/24/07 at 02:02 PM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 2:37pm

indeed he does.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 4:21pm

Dick Cheny corrects the impression left by PapaLovesMambo's misleading picture:

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 5:00pm

tsk, we all *KNOW* thats his leaky colostomy bag.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 5:15pm

Hmmm-- really? He has a bag? Cause I always thought he was full of _ _ _ _!

[wexy]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 8:41pm

I know with every fiber of my being that there is a spot in hell reserved for Dick Cheney.

[HDThoreau2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:21pm

All liberal democrats on this board appear to be mean spirited in their hatred of all things conservative.

Is this the foundation of the United States of America?

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:30pm

You are such a silly little tool.

I hope the summer session is entertaining for you.

[wexy]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:35pm

Total bull mr hd whatever,
I am not a liberal at all In fact I voted for Reagan because Carter was horrible. I voted for Pataki because Cuomo was a mean guy and for Bloomberg because Mark Green is an ass.
Dick Cheney IS evil incarnate.

[HDThoreau2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 9:36pm

Wex: could we use you, Rosie, Jack, and Christine on the poster for the true meaning of delusional liberals?

With you four in agreement, Fred Thompson has the White House well within his reach.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 11:22pm

"[Cheney's] general counsel has asserted that "the vice presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch nor a part of the legislative branch," and is therefore exempt from rules governing either."

[HDThoreau2]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 11:33pm

Exactly! It sounds like you think that Cheney lied because he stated the constitutional fact that he is an officer in both branches of government.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/24/07 at 11:39pm

No No HD you misunderstand! Cheney LIED when he said he wasn't part of the EXECUTIVE branch of the government.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 12:28am

It just makes you think, what are they so afraid of.

I really do hope that the Congress does stop funding the VP's office, because if it is not apart of the Executive Branch, then it surely should not be covered by the budget or such.

I want to see records for all of the money sent to the VP's office and I want some accountability now.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 5:18am

Cheney has set a new standard for VP non-accountability. From his refusal to reveal who helped write the nation's energy policy early in his first term to his destruction of his residential visitor's logs, you just have to wonder What is he hiding?

[HDThoreau2]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 8:28am

Cheney is a part of both branches, and that it what you said. You are not quite as crafty as the Treason Times in misquoting him.