Cheney has warrantless wiretapping documents, won't turn them over Nick Juliano

Published: Tuesday August 21, 2007





Print This Email This Vice President Dick Cheney's office has in its possession more than 50 documents related to a congressional investigation of the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program, but Cheney's lawyer on Monday refused to hand over the documents in response to a subpoena. In a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the vice president's lawyer, Shannen W. Coffin, identified dozens of presidential authorizations of the program and Justice Department memos on its legal justifications in Cheney's possession. Coffin refused to hand over the documents, citing a president's right to keep deliberations with his advisers private. "The Office of the Vice President possesses copies of documents ... that we understand to be of the most interest to the Committee and with respect to which a claim of Executive Privilege if made would clearly be valid," Coffin wrote in the letter Leahy released to reporters Monday. Among the documents are "copies of Top Secret/Codeword Presidential Authorizations" issued between Oct. 4, 2001, and Dec. 8, 2006. President Bush approved the warrantless wiretapping program, which allows the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on foreign calls without prior court approval, in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. He was required to issue reauthorizations every 45 days. The documents also include 10 Justice Department memos related to the program, including some that could shed more light on a March 2004 dispute over the program. Justice Department officials threatened to resign over aspects of the program they thought were illegal, but the details of the dispute have not been made public. In her letter to Leahy, Coffin asked for more time to comply with the subpoena and insisted the vice president's office wanted to work out "an accommodation that protects the constitutional interests of all concerned." The Judiciary Committee earlier this summer authorized subpoenas to the White House and Justice Department related to its wiretapping investigation. So far it has received none of its requested documents, and Leahy threatened to begin contempt proceedings if the administration continues to withhold the documents. White House Counsel Fred F. Fielding also requested more time to comply with the subpoena, but the administration insists it is trying to cooperate with Congress. "We have approached these discussions in a positive way that will not take us down the path of confrontation," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said in a statement, according to the Washington Post. However, Leahy blasted the White House's claims of negotiating in good faith during a Capitol Hill press conference Monday. "The only accommodations we tend to get from the White House is, 'Do it our way and we'll be happy," he said.



