« previous | MUCK HOME | next »
Veep Keeps Staff Size under Wraps
At TPM, David Kurtz recently mused on the irrational secrecy which has cloaked the Office of the Vice Presidency's staff list since Dick Cheney set up shop there. "It's about a perverse sense of entitlement and a deep aversion to scrutiny and accountability," wrote Kurtz. ""Time to shine some light on the OVP."
If that's not throwing down the gauntlet to the muckrakers, we don't know what is.
We called Leadership Directories, Inc., a private company which publishes expensive telephone books listing federal officials. OVP routinely shares information on roughly 30 employees, they told us. Of course, that's likely less than half the number of staffers in his office: in the January issue of the Washington Monthly, Laura Rozen estimates Cheney's staff size to be 88, plus various experts assigned temporary duty to OVP by their federal agencies. (The largest concentration of staff in a single area is likely to be in Cheney's national security staff: in 2005, Foreign Policy's David Rothkopf asserted (reg. req.) that Cheney has the largest national security staff of any vice president ever, with guesses ranging from 15 to 35 at any given time.)
Cheney's office refuses to give any details to reporters. His office is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, so any such request would be futile. What's more, Cheney appears to have exempted his office from having to disclose the number of appointed officials in his ranks: all other agencies have to release theirs for a government directory known as the "Plum Book."
Published every four years, the volume is supposed to list every position in the federal government that is assigned to a political appointee. Cheney's list was a more dangerous secret than even the CIA's. In the most recent edition published in 2004, the book shows the CIA as having eight such spots; it shows none for the vice president's office. Instead there is a brief appendix (pdf) consisting of three rather wordy paragraphs that say a lot but say very little. It's important to note that past vice presidents have complied with the law. For example, here and here.
Update: Two Cheney aides are named in the 2004 Plum Book after all, although they are listed under the "White House Office": then-chief of staff Scooter Libby, and Brian D. Montgomery, "Deputy Assistant to the President, Deputy Director of Presidential Speechwriting and Assistant to the Vice President."
Comments (39)
nc 11 cd wrote on January 29, 2007 2:24 PM:So what about it, then? Are you guys going to start a page with 88 blanks? (87 plus Mary Matalin? 86 plus Matalin and Libby's replacement? 85 plus the above and Cheney himself?)
You could assign each staff position to a key on a virtual piano keyboard and update us on what songs could be played given the number of staffers whose names we knew.
What fun!
Margaret wrote on January 29, 2007 2:25 PM:I don't get the WSJ, but my dad said there's some big article on their front page about Cheney and a no-bid contract for a Tijuana/San Diego beach clean-up job. Seems this big Bush-Cheney contributor got the job after some arm-twisting by Cheney and now has done a really bad job. Anybody see that article?
just john wrote on January 29, 2007 2:26 PM:It seems to me that the OVP is an ideal candidate for wholesale budget cuts.
Also, calling Cheney to testify in defense of the OVP's budget would be a dandy first test of whether or not he really intends to ignore Congressional subpoenas.
Crust wrote on January 29, 2007 2:31 PM:just john made an interesting comment:
"It seems to me that the OVP is an ideal candidate for wholesale budget cuts."
Can Congress plausibly threaten to cut off funds for the OVP if they don't give basic information on who works there, i.e. where that money is being spent?
Gail wrote on January 29, 2007 2:32 PM:Is the OVP's budget also a secret? Seems like that information should be publicly available, unless funding for OVP staffers are hidden in the "intelligence" budgets?
disco wrote on January 29, 2007 2:33 PM:Right now, nc 11 cd, there's enough keys I think to play the intro to Three Dog Night's "One"
'One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It's the loneliest number since the number one'
Poor Big-Time
Stuart Eugene Thiel wrote on January 29, 2007 2:37 PM:88 staffers for 44 criminals.
xopher wrote on January 29, 2007 2:39 PM:So, apparently the OVP is arguing they aren't part of the legislative or executive branch, and can pick what laws they want to obey? Par for the course - "We only break the laws we don't like."
MoDem wrote on January 29, 2007 2:43 PM:I am sure that Russert can help us with this issue. Has anyone called Russert and asked what he knows about the number in the VP's office?
Carol wrote on January 29, 2007 2:45 PM:So, let's see...we the taxpayers pay Cheney's salary so he can veep-represent us. He pays his staff with our taxpayer dollars. We ask to see his payroll. He says no.
As a private enterprise person of a publicly owned corporation, he would never get away with this. The stockholders would have his hide.
As taxpayers, we are stockholders (or stakeholders), and we demand to know what the hell we are paying for and how much and why.
ckelly wrote on January 29, 2007 2:46 PM:It burns. It burns. Shining this light on the veep...it burns!
theraP wrote on January 29, 2007 2:47 PM:How can we tell - without the list - whether the OVP employs his dog, family members, reporters, furriners, crooks and so forth?
Citizen 92 wrote on January 29, 2007 2:54 PM:Justin just briefly hit upon the real subtext here, what appears tp be a unilateral and cavalier statement about WHAT the Vice Presidency is. Whomever wrote the Plum Book entry (David Addington, perhaps) seems to think the VP is not part of the Executive Branch:
"...The Vice Presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch, nor a part of the legislative branch, but is attached by the Constitution to the latter..."
Ahem, WTF? If the OVP is not part of the Executive or Legislative, what is it? Who makes its rules?
"..The Office of the Vice President consists of the aggregation of Vice Presidential employees... employees assigned or detailed to the Vice President and consultants engaged by the Vice President..."
So the VP can employe anyone he wants?
"...The authority to appoint, administratively determine the pay of, and discharge Vice Presidential employees rests with the Vice President..."
I thought that was the authority of the President only.
See, what it appears we have here is an end run around the Constitution. The Vice President doesn't consider himself part of the Executive Branch, therefore he doesn't report his staff because the Plum Book is a listing only of Executive Branch staff. That little addendum is only a CYA because the Clinton Administration reported VP staff, and very much considered the VP part of the Executive Branch.
So exactly WHO does the VP report to? And what is his role in our Constiutional democracy? He'd have us believe can his own rules.
Anonymous wrote on January 29, 2007 2:55 PM:Brian Montgomery was first the Advance Director for President Bush. Then he was a the WH Cabinet Secretary for Bush. Today he's HUD Federal Housing Commissioner.
At no time was he on Cheney's staff. He's one of Bush's Texas loyalists.
Anonymous wrote on January 29, 2007 2:58 PM:What about Leonardo Argancillo, the guy that used to work on Cheney's little own branch of the NSC who turned out to be a spy for the Philippines...
What about him? Is he on the list?
the exile wrote on January 29, 2007 3:06 PM:Now I know why Cheney so lusted after VP. He loves those little loopholes of lawlessless-- VP is neither in the executive nor the legislative, just as Guantanamo is neither in Cuba nor in the US... He really does embody the Nixon-Ollie North roots of modern Rethuglicanism.
Steve LaBonne wrote on January 29, 2007 3:08 PM:"...The Vice Presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch, nor a part of the legislative branch, but is attached by the Constitution to the latter..." I know I should be used to this stuff by now, but- that is un-friggin'-believable. Our new Congress needs to rudely inform these assholes, ASAP, that this crap won't fly anymore.
squirm wrote on January 29, 2007 3:14 PM:Justin: nice headline.
George E. Lowe wrote on January 29, 2007 3:33 PM:Hi, Based on my 30 years in the "Federal Govt" & special knowledge of the "PLUM BOOK" & Details from other Federal Agencies, I can assure you that the ONLY way to get the truth about Cheney's OVP, is to follow the "SALARIES & EXPENSES"/$$$$$/"Golden Trail". Federal, US TAXPAYER'S MONIES ARE being used to pay for the OVP --SS/Federal THRIFT PROGRAMS/OMB Retirement Accounts etc. Expose them now! That's what MUCKRAKERS ARE FOR. George E. Lowe
bjobotts wrote on January 29, 2007 3:48 PM:The only VP who says openly "Go fuck yourself", is saying it now to everyone and anyone he wants to and this includes congress and the taxpayers. He implies in everything he says and does that it's 'none of your business, I can do whatever I please and you can't stop me'. Just try it...anyone. If you don't get shot in the face you'll get "no comment...your out of line", etc..He will not comply with any subpoena or request from congress or the judiciary. He has proven he is above the law by manipulating the intelligence to go to war, wire tapping and torture. He has shrouded himself and his office in secrecy so he can continue his reign unchallenged. A KING doesn't always have to be recognized as such. My question is will he step down...really?
Citizen 92 wrote on January 29, 2007 3:56 PM:The VP's office doesn't file required travel reports for its staff either. Remember this article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/28/AR2005112801446.html
"...Cheney's office says nothing is amiss. In three letters since 2002 to the Office of Government Ethics, which collects the travel reports, David S. Addington, then Cheney's general counsel, noted that the reporting requirement applies to the "head of each agency of the executive branch.
"The Office of the Vice President is not an 'agency of the executive branch,' and hence the reporting requirement does not apply," wrote Addington, who this month replaced I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby as Cheney's chief of staff..."
Again, NOT A PART OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH. I'm sensing a pattern here based on VERY SHAKY legal interpretations.
Keep the light coming.
angryvietvet wrote on January 29, 2007 4:05 PM:It is obvious that Chaney wipes his big fat fascist ass with the u.s.constitution. He must be impeached or have his heart pacer forcibly removed so he can to hell where he belongs.
Patience wrote on January 29, 2007 4:12 PM:Every couple of years the Washington Post has published a rundown of White House staffers and their salaries. I don't know where they get the information from, but why shouldn't they be able to do the same thing with the VP's office?
I'm still convinced that Cheney plans to end up as the Vice Presidential nominee for whichever unfortunate man ends up as the Republican presidential candidate. There's no law against the VP serving three or four terms, right?
RR wrote on January 29, 2007 4:14 PM:Men like Cheney don't spring full grown from the head of a swan, or whatever. He has to have some sort of background that would lead us to understand the current man. He is vindictive, shoots messengers, ignores wise counsel, believes his ideas are right just because they are his, takes huge risks, doesn't understand teamwork, micromanages, etc.
Certainly, many of these traits would have shownup when he was at Haliburton, or when he served in the Congress. Does anyone have any information on how the younger Cheney acted? Good CEOs do NOT show these traits.
Django wrote on January 29, 2007 4:23 PM:Like the true authoritarian he is, Cheney doesn't govern. He rules. He thinks of himself as no more accountable to you and me than to that poor guy he shot in the face. No, come to think of it, you and I are accountable to him. So neither the size of his staff, his Energy Task Force nor anything else relating to the vice presidency is any of your business. Go away.
Come January 2009, I can see him being dragged out of the VP's residence by his fingernails.
Cheryl wrote on January 29, 2007 4:26 PM:If we can get rid of Dick, the presidental face will follow, having no brain of his own.
Anonymous wrote on January 29, 2007 4:31 PM:If he's not part of the executive branch, how can he claim executive privilege?
RT wrote on January 29, 2007 4:33 PM:You know how people say it wouldn't do any good to impeach Bush because Cheney would be President?
Aside from the fact that any impeachable offenses Bush has committed, Cheney also likely had a hand in, there's the fact that if Cheney were President, it would force him out of the shadows.
Jeany wrote on January 29, 2007 4:33 PM:OK, here's how this should work. If you shine a light and can't see anything, try a black light. You'll see all sorts of things you wouldn't see with a normal spectrum light.
ViniloSuave wrote on January 29, 2007 4:56 PM:Someone who can take up their time must read this article and the comments to Pelosi and Reed, and then do the same for every other representative and senator. Put impeachment back on the table or put our Constitution in the outhouse.
varney wrote on January 29, 2007 5:29 PM:Addington testified this afternoon: "OVP doesn't run its own email system. Office at Central Administration." [as scribed by emptywheel @ http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/01/29/libby-live-david-addington/]
If Cheney can say VP's not part of the Executive branch, why wld we believe that he doesn't have a separate email system?
Cheryl wrote on January 29, 2007 6:19 PM:Is it just me, does the press even care what Dick Cheney does, because they don't act like it.
Why buy a newspaper when you can read Josh Marshall's blog? What is the matter with an internet news source like this, nothing. The liberal media has been all hype created to let the GOP lie about the state of war, about everything. I like answers to questions, but the press doesn't want to ask questions anymore, and they don't seems to care when they don't get answers from this administration. The press never take the Bushies to task. Bloggers are taking on areas that so-call journalist don't want to take on.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on January 29, 2007 6:37 PM:Margaret, Thanks for steering me to the WSJ report on Cheney and the Tijuana raw sewage scandal. Sludgegate, anyone?
1/29/07 WSJ - "Smell Test: How Politics Influenced A Big Clean-Up Deal; Tiny Start-Up Wins Border Sewage Contract; A Meeting With Cheney" by Scott J. Paltrow:
"IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. -- As Tijuana has boomed, fueled by industrial expansion, something else has also surged: the flood of raw sewage the Mexican border city sends gushing downhill into neighboring California. Less than 60% of the city's sewage is being treated at all, and that only to minimal levels, leaving tons to flow into the canyons and surf of Southern California.
To stem this growing mess, the American government has chosen an unusual solution. Without any competitive bidding, the U.S. gave Bajagua LLC, a start-up company with no experience in treating waste water, sole authority to build and operate a treatment plant in Mexico.
The tale of Bajagua's success in getting the contract involves, among other things, well-timed campaign contributions to local members of Congress and other political figures. The firm also enlisted people with crucial connections as lobbyists. And when that didn't prove enough, Bajagua obtained backing from Vice President Dick Cheney and the White House, which cleared away opposition by federal agencies, several former senior federal agency officials say...."
Cal Damage wrote on January 29, 2007 7:12 PM:And these guys complained about Clinton parsing 'is'! Whatever happened to 'nation of laws, not men'?
The Other Jake wrote on January 30, 2007 12:50 AM:I found another staff member of the Vice President's listed in latest Plum Book: Elizabeth Denny. Tell me again how any of this is "top secret" again?
Avery wrote on February 4, 2007 7:48 PM:What is your name? Where do you live?
Hannah wrote on February 4, 2007 7:59 PM:just wanted to say hi to all seen some names from the past and took a mental walk down memory lane.
Steve wrote on February 5, 2007 9:02 AM:I guess there is some confusion to put it kindly; the VP is the President of the Senate and is officially employed by this body. Hasn't anyone taken Civics? I don't know why between talk radio and blogs the level of both intellegence and its usual complement civility have gone by the wayside.
stephen miller wrote on February 5, 2007 12:29 PM:David Kurtz asks how it is that the empty narcissistic Bush doesn't mind Cheney being shadow president... maybe Cheney knows too much. Or maybe Cheney knows stuff Bush doesn't want to know.