Judge OKs depositions in Cheney records lawsuit

Let the depositions begin.

As you may recall from an earlier post on Countdown to Crawford, a group of historians and activists from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is suing Vice President Dick Cheney so that he does not destroy or withhold official records when he leaves office.

Now, a judge overseeing the case has granted CREW's request to take the depositions of David Addington, Cheney's chief of staff, and Nancy Smith, the National Archives and Records Administration official responsible for presidential papers under the Presidential Records Act. And U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, questioning whether the secrecy-loving Cheney is preserving all records or just those he deems worthy of public inspection, said the depositions must take place by Oct. 6.

CREW was delighted. Chief counsel Anne Weismann said today:

With this decision, there is now nowhere for the White House to duck and hide. We are hopeful that these depositions will allow us to finally uncover whether these important records are being preserved or deliberately lost to future generations.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Alberto Pellaschiar / Associated Press

Comments

[larry uzarski]

WILL THE "BUSH CRIME FAMILY/CHENEY " END UP IN JAIL?....... OR WILL HE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS A GOOD GUY?..........THERE ARE A LOT OF US THAT ARE HOPING FOR THE FORMER!

[Philip J Dennany]

Does anyone really believe that Richard Cheney would submit to a mere court order? Everything significantly threatening to Cheney in control of his office was or will be "lost", and explained away as a simple oversight and those that work for, or know him won't dare to speak out. Who can stop him?