J. William Leonard learned the hard way the perils of questioning Vice President Dick Cheney. The veteran National Archives official challenged claims by the Office of Vice President (OVP) to be exempt from federal rules governing classified information. His efforts touched off a firestorm—and a counter-strike by Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington, who tried to wipe out Leonard's job. (Addington did not respond to requests for comment on the subject.)The answer to what Dick has to hide is obviously, "everything."
Now, Leonard is quitting as director of the Archives' Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO)—the unit that monitors the handling of government secrets. He tells NEWSWEEK that his fight with Cheney's office was a "contributing" factor in his decision to retire after 34 years of government service.
Whats really ironic is that it was another Dick, Nixon, who was the reason behind the Freedom of Information Act that was supposed to make your government and mine more transparent.
Maybe when the people who conduct the war crimes trial of Bush and Cheney after they are out of office will be able to sort out why Dick was so secretive. If he had nothing to hide why hide everything?
Wake up sheeple.
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