Report: Cheney backs off on claim that he is 'fourth branch of government'

Michael RostonPublished: Wednesday June 27, 2007
With a vote looming in Congress on Thursday to defund the Office of the Vice President in the White House's annual appropriation, a report at The Politico claims that the White House will no longer advance the argument that the Vice President's office is not a part of the executive branch.
"The White House has no plans to reassert the argument there is any vice presidential distinction from the executive branch," according to Bush administration officials who spoke with reporter Mike Allen. "Two senior Republican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the rationale had been the view of the vice president’s lawyers, not Cheney himself."
However, Cheney's change of tack does not mean that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Chairman of the Democratic Caucus, will end his drive to defund the Vice President's $4 million-plus appropriation for the next fiscal year.
"Emanuel said the vote is still planned, and said the new position means the vice president needs to comply with National Archives requirements," Allen added.
The veteran reporter suggested that a letter written by the Vice President's chief of staff, David Addington, to Senator John Kerry (D-MA) amounted to a capitulation as it no longer held that Cheney's office was outside of the executive branch. RAW STORY reported Tuesday on the letter. Cont

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