The resistance from the Obama administration has left some of its supporters shaking their heads. Not only does the obstruction go against President Obama's pledge of government openness, but it is protecting the reputation of former Vice President Cheney, one of Obama's most vocal critics.
The administration's position also seems to equate with cheap partisanship a request for information about a major controversy from George W. Bush's presidency the leaking of Plame's covert CIA identity as part of a campaign to discredit her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who was an early Iraq War critic.
In a declaration filed with the court earlier this month, Lanny Breuer, an assistant attorney general for the criminal division, said releasing Cheney's interview transcript could discourage cooperation from future vice presidents and thus would raise "the specter of the grand jury process" each time there was a demand to investigate "baseless, partisan allegations."
In last week's filing, Obama's Justice Department even took an apparent swipe at the House Oversight Committee, which investigated the Plame leak for the past several years. The filing noted that the Cheney transcript was initially sought by "a congressional subpoena from a committee that appeared to be conducting a contentious investigation of the White House."
In seeking to block disclosure of the transcript this month, Obama's Justice Department did reveal some new details about special prosecutor Fitzgerald's interrogation of Cheney. According to one reference in the court filing, Bush and Cheney were in contact about the scandal, including what is described as "a confidential conversation" and "an apparent communication between the Vice President and the President."
The filing also made clear that Cheney was at the center of White House machinations rebutting criticism from Wilson, who charged in summer 2003 that the Bush administration had "twisted" intelligence to justify invading Iraq in March 2003. While seeking to discredit Wilson, administration officials disclosed to reporters that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, worked for the CIA.
Besides the contacts with Bush, the filing referenced Cheney's questions to the CIA about its decision to send Wilson to Africa in 2002 to investigate and ultimately refute suspicions that Iraq was seeking yellowcake uranium from the African country of Niger.
Cheney was asked, too, about his role in arranging a statement by then-CIA Director George Tenet taking responsibility for including a misleading claim about the African uranium in Bush's 2003 State of the Union address, and Cheney's discussions with his chief of staff I. Lewis Libby and other White House officials about how to respond to inquiries regarding the leak of Plame's identity, the court filing said.
Fitzgerald also questioned Cheney about his participation in the decision to declassify parts of a 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq's alleged WMD. It ultimately fell to Bush to clear selected parts of the NIE so they could be leaked as part of the White House campaign to disparage Wilson.
Cheney's aide Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the leak case, but his 30-month prison term was commuted by President Bush.
CREW had represented the Wilson's in a civil lawsuit against Cheney and other Bush administration officials, which Obama's Justice Department asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject. The High Court dismissed the case last month.
Judge Sullivan said if he issues a ruling in favor of CREW, he would allow the government to appeal his decision before ordering the release of the transcript.
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