Taking Issue with So-Called Exemptions from Executive Orders

Executive Orders (EOs), unless they specifically exempt someone, apply to everyone in the Executive Branch.  So how is it that the plainly worded language of an EO get ignored by both the President and the Vice President?

Sometimes I wonder what planet the President and Vice President are living on.  We’ve got to the point where they’re not just arguing what the definition if “is” is, but that black is white, yes means no, and the Vice President isn’t legally part of the Executive Branch.

(cough cough)bullshit(cough cough)

I spent a good amount of time this last week metaphorically ripping the Vice President a new orifice by pointing out that his office actually does have to adhere to the Executive Orders regarding the protection of national secrets.  And this morning, I discovered that the President believes that his own Executive Order (EO) exempts both the White House and the Office of the Vice President from security provisions oversight even though EO13292 clearly and obviously includes everyone and everything that comes into contact with classified information.

Rather than reproduce both of these blogs here, please visit both of them over on Scholars & Rogues.