September, 24 2008, 10:04am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Naomi Seligman 202.408.5565
CREW to Depose Cheney Chief of Staff David Addington
WASHINGTON
Yesterday, in Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
(CREW), et al. v. Cheney, et al., the court granted CREW's request to
take the depositions of David Addington, Vice President Cheney's chief
of staff, and Nancy Smith, the National Archives and Records
Administration official responsible for presidential papers under the
Presidential Records Act.
The court rejected the government's arguments that no discovery is
warranted because they have demonstrated full compliance with the
Presidential Records Act. Based on three White house declarations, U.S.
District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly questioned whether the vice
president is preserving all vice presidential records, or only two
subsets of records. The depositions must take place by October 6, 2008.
Anne Weismann, CREW's chief counsel 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."
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation -- who sacrifice the common good to special interests. CREW advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach.
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