Vice President Richard B. Cheney once claimed that he was covered by executive privilege and therefore he shouldn't have to release the documents relating to the energy task force that he initiated. This 2004 argument was only partially upheld by the Supreme Court. It was upheld in the sense that the courts are not the correct place to decide secrecy issues.
However, now Mr. Cheney is claiming that he is not a part of the executive branch. This extraordinary claim is coming during a dispute with the National Archives and Records Administration over classified documents that would normally be placed in the care of the Archives. The Office of the Vice President appears to be part of the executive branch for the purposes of 44 U.S.C. § 2207 which covers Vice Presidential records. Executive Order 13233 Sec. 11 also speaks to this topic.
Sec. 2207 refers to "executive records" of the Vice President, but the term goes undefined. If "executive records" refers to any document "whose function is to advise and assist the President [Vice President], in the course of conducting activities which relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of the President [Vice President]" than Vice Presidential documents that fit this description would also be subject to the law. This seems to be the point of section 2207. If this is untrue than why do our laws recognize the Office of the Vice President as part of the executive branch for archiving of records?
According to Craig Crawford of CQ Cheney's claim of non-executive privilege "was for the purpose of exempting himself from a presidential order regulating federal agencies’ handling of classified national security information." This seems plausible since he rushes to claim the mantle of executive privilege when he wishes to refuse Congress information.
