The right to DECLASSIFY does not rest with the Veep IF he was not the original party who classified the information in the first place. See Executive Order No. 13292 (which Bush amended from the earlier Executive Order 12958 in March 2003) at http://www.archives.gov/isoo/policy-documents/eo-1 2958-amendment.html#3.1 Here is the rule on Classification:
Sec. 1.1. CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS.
(a) Information may be originally classified under the terms of this order only if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) an original classification authority is classifying the information [my comment: the VP has authority to classify stuff he wants to classify, but there are limitations on what he can treat as "classified". See Sec 1.7 below!];
(2) the information is owned by, produced by or for, or is under the control of the United States Government;
(3) the information falls within one or more of the categories of information listed in section 1.4 of this order; and
(4) the original classification authority determines that the unauthorized disclosure of the information reasonably could be expected to result in damage to the national security, which includes defense against transnational terrorism, and the original classification authority is able to identify or describe the damage.
(b) Classified information shall not be declassified automatically as a result of any unauthorized disclosure of identical or similar information.
(c) The unauthorized disclosure of foreign government information is presumed to cause damage to the national security.
Part 1, Sec. 1.4 (Classification Categories), Subsection (c) states:
Information shall not be considered for classification unless it concerns: ... (c) intelligence activities (including special activities), intelligence sources or methods, or cryptology;
Further, see:
Sec. 1.7. Classification Prohibitions and Limitations.
(a) In no case shall information be classified in order to:(1) conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error;(2) prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency;
(3) restrain competition; or
(4) prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of the national security.
The right to declassify rests with the Director of the Information Security Oversight Office, under the direction of the Archivist and in consultation with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Cheney is so not that guy.
Further, Part 4 (Safeguarding), Section 4.1 (General Restrictions On Access) states, in pertinant part:
"....[C]lassified information originating in one agency shall not be disseminated outside any other agency to which it has been made available without the consent of the originating agency. An agency head or senior agency official may waive this requirement for specific information originated within that agency. For purposes of this section, the Department of Defense shall be considered one agency."
Thus, only the CIA had the right to release the name of a CIA operative; not Cheney.
Now, does the Veep have the right to declassify on a whim (without following procedure)? Nope. Absolutely not! Part 3 (Declassification and Downgrading) Section 3.1 (Authority for Declassification), Subsection (b) states:
"(b) It is presumed that information that continues to
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Part 1, Sec. 1.4 (Classification Categories), Subsection (c) states:
Further, see:
The right to declassify rests with the Director of the Information Security Oversight Office, under the direction of the Archivist and in consultation with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Cheney is so not that guy.
Further, Part 4 (Safeguarding), Section 4.1 (General Restrictions On Access) states, in pertinant part:
Thus, only the CIA had the right to release the name of a CIA operative; not Cheney.
Now, does the Veep have the right to declassify on a whim (without following procedure)? Nope. Absolutely not! Part 3 (Declassification and Downgrading) Section 3.1 (Authority for Declassification), Subsection (b) states: