This issue of Dick Cheney’s claimed right to declassify information at will is a very big deal — both in terms of the White House’s continued claims to be above the law and for Scooter Libby’s trial defense.
Basically, Cheney is claiming that if Cheney decides to leak it, then by definition, it’s not classified. Sort of like daubing holy water over the information in question. There’s some question over whether the president might have that ability; no question, as far as I can see, that the vice president has no such right.
This is another of Cheney’s efforts to claim that he is unbounded by the law. Steve Clemons has more.
