Executive Order 13292
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Executive Order 13292 concerns classified national security information of the United States government and "prescribes a uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information, including information relating to defense against transnational terrorism." It was issued by President George W. Bush on March 25 2003 and amends earlier executive orders on classified information, including Executive Order 12356 of April 6 1982 and Executive Order 12958 of October 14 1995.
The significance of this executive order was a subject that Vice President Dick Cheney discussed in a February 15, 2006 interview that was mostly focused on the hunting incident which had occurred a few days earlier. That interview included a few questions on a comment by Scooter Libby related to the Plame affair; one of those questions led to the following comment from Cheney:
- There is an executive order that specifies who has classification authority, and obviously focuses first and foremost on the President, but also includes the Vice President.
Byron York of the National Review noted some of the changes that Cheney was referring to:
- Throughout Executive Order 13292, there are changes to the original Clinton order which, in effect, give the vice president the power of the president in dealing with classified material....Executive Order 13292 is real evidence of real power in the vice president's office. Since the beginning of the administration, Dick Cheney has favored measures allowing the executive branch to keep more things secret. And in March of 2003, the president gave him the authority to do it.
[edit] External links
- Further Amendment to Executive Order 12958, As Amended, Classified National Security Information, White House, March 25, 2003
- Interview of the Vice President by Brit Hume, FOX News, a transcript from the White House website
- The Little-Noticed Order That Gave Dick Cheney New Power, a February 2006 National Review article
