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Dick Cheney has come under increased scrutiny lately because he refuses to submit to an independent oversight committee on the handling of classified information. This refusal is in direct opposition to an executive order President Bush issued in March, 2003. The order was made to enable the tracking of classified information-to find out who knows what-as well as to ensure that the information is being handled properly- and requires all government agencies that are part of the executive branch to submit to oversight.

Spokespeople for Cheney have said that the vice president does not need to follow the order because his office is not officially part of the executive branch of government, citing his role as President of the Senate when there is a tie in the legislative branch. The White House agrees that Cheney does not have to submit to oversight, not because his office is separate from the executive offices, but because Bush never intended for the order to apply to the office of the Vice-President, or the office of the President, for that matter.

Regardless of his intentions, in the order, President Bush never said that his and the Vice-President's offices were exempt from oversight. There is an argument that it does not matter that he did not name those two offices explicitly because President Bush issued the order, and he knows what his intentions were.

I think this whole thing is silly. It is silly that Cheney-the VICE President-claims he is not part of the executive branch. What is he a part of then? He does not make laws or write amendments-that's what congress does; And he does not rule on legal matters-that's the Supreme Court's duty. I think it is plain to see that Cheney does, in fact, belong to the executive branch and should be held to the executive order.

As for President Bush's intentions: they do not matter. If he had truly intended for his and the vp's offices to be exempt from oversight, he should have made that clear when he issued the order. Now it just looks like he is changing his position to not only support the vice-president, but to protect him from any possible legal proceedings against him for his non-compliance in following the executive order.

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