Vice President Dick Cheney Ordered to Keep Records by Federal Judge Preserved

Vice President Dick Cheney was ordered on Saturday to preserve an array of records since his time as Vice President.

The lawsuit originates from Mr. Cheney’s opinion that his office is not part of the executive branch of government.

Federal judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly came down with the order Saturday which is viewed ads a set back to the Bush aministration. The Bush administration has been trying to encourage a constricted definition of materials that must be shielded under the Presidential Records Act.

The Bush administration’s legal position “heightens the court’s concern” that some records might not be preserved, Judge Kollar-Kotelly said.

Vice President Cheney and the Executive Office of the President is currently being sued by a private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The suit is to make certain that no presidential records are destroyed, altered or mishandled so that they are made to be unavailable to the public.

Lawyers for the Bush administration turned down a proposed agreement in the past few days on how to proceed between the two parties according to a 22-page opinion from Judge Kollar-Kotelly.

Judge Kollaer-Kotelly wrote, in reference to Dick Cheney and other defendants in the case “were only willing to agree to a preservation order that tracked their narrowed interpretation” of the Presidential Records Act.

A spokesman for Mr. Cheney, James R. Hennigan said, “We will not have any comment on pending litigation.”