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It ain't a secret...

...unless the Veep says so.

From the Associated Press:
Vice President Dick Cheney says he has the power to declassify government secrets, raising the possibility that he authorized his former chief of staff to pass along sensitive prewar data on Iraq to reporters....

In a recent court filing, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald revealed Libby's assertions to a grand jury that superiors had authorized him to spread sensitive information from a National Intelligence Estimate. The administration used the NIE assessment on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction as part of its justification for going to war.

At the time of Libby's contacts with reporters in June and July 2003, the administration, including Cheney, who was among the war's most ardent proponents, faced growing criticism....

...Cheney said an executive order gives him, and President Bush, power to declassify information.

I assume that Cheney is referring to Executive Order 13292. How ironic that this was an amendment to an earlier EO and now gave the Vice President authority to 'declassify' information of his choosing. And it just happens that this 'authority' was granted prior to Libby leaking WMD info to the press.

Too bad Scooter's 'Ollie North' defense doesn't really help him that much (barring the disclosure of another Executive Order that gives Cheney the authority to order his underlings to commit perjury, obstruct justice, and lie to the FBI).

Update: Georgia10 over at Daily Kos does a detailed analysis of the Executive Order Cheney cited.