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*'''"The president when it was revealed in 2005 that the [[Bush administration]] had been illegally spying on Americans, [Vice President Dick] [[Dick Cheney|Cheney]] responded: 'If you want to understand why this program is always rightlegal…go back and read my [[Iran-Contra]] report.' In that report — authored in 1987 — Cheney and aide [[David Addington]] defended President [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] by claiming it was 'unconstitutional for [[Congress]] to pass laws intruding' on the 'commander in chief'."'''&mdash;Steven BradburyCharlie Savage, [[UOctober 2007.S. Department of Justice]] lawyer, July 11<ref>Satyam Khanna, 2006. [http://wwwthinkprogress.washingtonpost.comorg/wp-dyn2007/content10/article09/2006savage-cheney/07"Charlie Savage: Cheney Plotted Bush’s Imperial Presidency ‘Thirty Years Ago’,"] ''Think Progress'', October 9, 2007.</11/AR2006071100953.html]ref>

*'''"It's not too far from King of Everything, reallyThe president is always right."'''&mdash;Jan FrelSteven Bradbury, ''AlterNet''[[U.S. Department of Justice]] lawyer, October 28July 11, 20052006. <ref>Dana Milbank, [http://alternetwww.orgwashingtonpost.com/blogswp-dyn/themixcontent/#27514article/2006/07/11/AR2006071100953.html "It's Bush's Way or the Highway on Guantanamo Bay,"]''Washington Post'', July 12, 2006.</ref>

The *'''unitary executive theory"It's not too far from King of Everything, really."'''&mdash;Jan Frel, ''AlterNet'' "asserts that all executive authority must be in the President’s hands, without exceptionOctober 28, 2005." <ref>Jan Frel, [http://wwwalternet.consortiumnews.comorg/blogs/2006themix/011106#27514 "Unitary Executive Theory,"] ''AlterNet'' Blogs, October 28, 2005.html]</ref>

----The '''unitary executive theory''' "asserts that all executive authority must be in the President’s hands, without exception."<ref>[[Robert Parry]], [http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/012406.html "The End of 'Unalienable Rights',"] ''consortiumnews.com'', January 24, 2006.</ref> President [[George W. Bush]] "has been asserting from the outset of his presidency" that presidential power "must be unilateral, and unchecked,." <ref>Jennifer Van Bergen , [http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20060109_bergen.html wrote"The Unitary Executive: Is The Doctrine Behind the Bush Presidency Consistent with a Democratic State?"] January 9, 2006, in ''FindLaw's Writ'', January 9, 2006. </ref>

"They make clear, for instance, that the phrase 'unitary executive' is a code word for a doctrine that favors nearly unlimited executive power. Bush has used the doctrine in his [[presidential signing statements|signing statements ]] to quietly expand presidential authority."<ref>Jennifer Van Bergen, [http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20060109_bergen.html "The Unitary Executive: Is The Doctrine Behind the Bush Presidency Consistent with a Democratic State?"] ''FindLaw's Writ'', January 9, 2006.</ref> According to "Dr. Christopher Kelley, a professor in the Department of Political Sciences at Miami University, as of April 2005, President Bush had used the doctrine 95 times when signing legislation into law, issuing an [[executive order]], or responding to a congressional resolution."<ref>Jennifer Van Bergen, [http://www.rawstory.com/news/2005/CanExecutive_Branch_Decide_0923.html "Scholar says Bush has used obscure doctrine to extend power 95 times,"] ''The Raw Story'', September 23, 2005.</ref>  "The President announced in these signings that he would construe provisions in a manner consistent with his 'constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch.' While the President clearly has the authority to supervise the executive branch, it is unclear how far he might construe this authority under the unitary executive theory."<ref>Jennifer Van Bergen, [http://www.rawstory.com/news/2005/CanExecutive_Branch_Decide_0923.html "Scholar says Bush has used obscure doctrine to extend power 95 times,"] ''The Raw Story'', September 23, 2005.</ref> ---- ==[[Bush administration]] "Fourth Branch" of government?==In June 2007, Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] claimed that he is neither a member of the executive branch of the U.S. government<ref>Julia Malone, [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/06/22/cheney_asserts_hes_part_of_the_legislative_branch/ "Cheney asserts he's part of the legislative branch. Will not follow executive order,"] Cox Newspapers (''Boston Globe''), June 21, 2007.</ref>, nor required to comply with [[executive order]]s issued by President George W. Bush. In turn, President Bush&mdash;consistent with his claim that presidential power "must be unilateral,and unchecked" <ref>Jennifer Van Bergen wrote, [http://www.rawstory.com/news/2005/CanExecutive_Branch_Decide_0923.html "Scholar says Bush has used obscure doctrine to extend power 95 times,"] ''The Raw Story'', September 23, 2005.</ref>&mdash;also claims that he is not required to comply, as neither the president nor the vice president are "agencies" of the executive branch.<ref>Josh Meyer, [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-cheney23jun23,1,7680698.story?coll=la-news-politics-national&track=crosspromo "Bush claims oversight exemption too. The White House says the president's own order on classified data does not apply to his office or the vice president's,"] ''Los Angeles Times'', June 23, 2007.</ref>

According Since 2004, Cheney's office has refused to "Dr. Christopher Kelleyallow" the [[Information Security Oversight Office]] (ISOO), "a professor in department within the Department [[National Archives]], to conduct an on-site inspection of Political Sciences at Miami Universityhow classified material is handled there, as of April 2005, it is authorized to do under an executive order issued by President Bush had used ." Additionally, Cheney "prevented his office records from going to the doctrine 95 times when signing legislation into National Archives, as required by federal law, issuing an according to [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Oversight and Government Reform Committee]] Chairman [[Henry Waxman]] (D-Calif.)", who is "now challenging the legality and rationale behind Cheney's decision in a letter<ref>[http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1371 "Vice President Exempts His Office from the Requirements for Protecting Classified Information,"] Chairman [[Henry A. Waxman]], [[executive orderHouse Committee on Oversight and Government Reform]], or responding June 21, 2007.</ref> sent to a congressional resolutionthe vice president" on June 21,2007. Waxman also said that Cheney's office "stopped supplying data to the Information Security Oversight Office on its classification and declassification procedures in 2003." Van Bergen <ref>John Bresnahan, [http://www.rawstorypolitico.com/newsblogs/2005thecrypt/CanExecutive_Branch_Decide_09230607/Waxman_challenges_Cheney_on_whether_VP_has_to_turn_over_documents_to_National_Archives.html wrote"Waxman challenges Cheney on whether VP has to turn over documents to National Archive,"] ''The Politico'', June 21, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://thegate.nationaljournal.com/2007/06/waxman_vs_cheney.php "Waxman vs. Cheney,"] September 23''The Gate''/''National Journal'', 2005June 22, 2007. </ref>

Following a threat by Rep. [[Rahm Emanuel]] (D-Ill.) to defund<ref>Patrick O'Connor, [http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0607/Rahm_wants_to_defund_Cheney.html "Emanuel Bill Would Defund Cheney,"] ''The President announced Crypt's Blog''/''The Politico'', June 24, 2007.</ref> "$4.8 million in these signings executive-branch funding", "senior administration officials" told ''[[The Politico]]'' Cheney's office "will not pursue the argument that he would construe provisions in a manner consistent with his 'constitutional authority to supervise it is separate from the unitary executive branch.' While .. Two senior [[Republican Party|Republican]] officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the President clearly has rationale had been the authority to supervise view of the vice president’s lawyers, not Cheney himself."<ref>Mike Allen, [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0607/4679.html "Cheney part of executive branchagain, it "] ''The Politico'', June 27, 2007.</ref> Emanuel said the defunding "vote is unclear how far he might construe this authority under still planned, and said the new position means the unitary executive theoryvice president needs to comply with National Archives requirements."<ref>Mike Allen," Van Bergen [http://www.rawstorypolitico.com/news/2005stories/CanExecutive_Branch_Decide_09230607/4679.html wrote"Cheney part of executive branch again,"]''The Politico'', June 27, 2007.</ref>

Jan Frel wrote in the October 28, 2005, ''AlterNet'' Blog<ref>Jan Frel, [http://alternet.org/blogs/themix/#27514 wrote"Unitary Executive Theory,"] in the October 28, 2005, ''AlterNet'' Blog Blogs, October 28, 2005.</ref> that Bush had, however, used this "unitary logic, including [in] many of his ill-fated choices relating to torture and the [[Geneva Conventions]]."

"And who was the author of the infamous 'torture memo?'," Frel asked? It was [[David S. Addington]], chief of staff to Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] since October 2005 and Cheney's counsel since 2001, who "believes in the Unitary Executive theory.<ref>Alexander Hamilton, [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed70.htm Unitary "The Federalist Papers : No. 70. The Executive theoryDepartment Further Considered. From the New York Packet. Tuesday, March 18, 1788,]The Avalon Project, Yale University. </ref> If you guessed that this meant the power of one CEO who decides liberty and justice for all, you wouldn't be far off," Frel wrote.

Addington was the "vice president's point man," ''Washington Post'' reporter Dana Milbank wrote October 11, 2004.<ref>Dana Milbank, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22665-2004Oct10.html wrote"In Cheney's Shadow, Counsel Pushes the Conservative Cause,"] ''Washington Post'', October 11, 2004. </ref>

"[[Presidential Signing Statementssigning statements]]: Similar to the line-item veto is the presidential signing statement, in which the President signs a bill but also specifies which parts of a bill he or she actually intends to enforce. <ref>Tom Head, [http://civilliberty.about.com/od/waronterror/p/imperial101.htm"Imperial Presidency 101 - Unitary Executive Theory and the Imperial Presidency,"]''Civil Liberty'' at About.com.</ref>

==Publications==In July 2006, Sen. [[Arthur M. SchlesingerArlen Specter]], "The Imperial Presidency," Houghton Mifflin, 1973 ISBN 0395177138filed legislation that would allow a chamber of Congress to file a lawsuit to determine the constitutionality of presidential signing statements. <ref>[http://civillibertythomas.aboutloc.comgov/gicgi-bin/dynamicbdquery/offsitez?d109:s.03731: S.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=civilliberty&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww3731. A bill to regulate the judicial use of presidential signing statements in the interpretation of Acts of Congress] introduced July 26, 2006, by Sen.pricegrabberArlen Specter (R-Penn.com%2Fsearch_books2).php%2Fbook_id%3D10382061</ref> :* '''See the Congresspedia article on [[presidential signing statements] ].'''

==Resources and articles=====Related SourceWatch Resourcesarticles===

*Christopher S. Yoo, Steven G. Calabresi, and Anthony Colangelo,[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=690822 "The Unitary Executive in the Modern Era, 1945-2004,"] Iowa Law Review, Vol. 90, No. 2, p. 601, 2005. ===2004===*Dana Milbank, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22665-2004Oct10.html "In Cheney's Shadow, Counsel Pushes the Conservative Cause,"] ''Washington Post'', October 11, 2004. ===2005===*Jennifer Van Bergen, [http://www.rawstory.com/news/2005/CanExecutive_Branch_Decide_0923.html "Scholar says Bush has used obscure doctrine to extend power 95 times,"] ''The Raw Story'', September 23, 2005.*Jan Frel, [http://alternet.org/blogs/themix/#27514 "Unitary Executive Theory,"] ''AlterNet'' Blogs, October 28, 2005.

===2006===*Tom Engelhardt, [http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=46791 "Tomgram: A Cult of Presidential Power. The Unrestrained President,"] ''TomDispatch.com'', January 4, 2006.*Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith, [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060123/questions_for_alito "The Limits of Power: Questions for Alito,"] ''The Nation'', January 6, 2006.*Glenn Greenwald, [http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/01/ideology-of-lawlessness.html "An ideology of lawlessness,"] ''Unclaimed Territory'', January 6, 2006.*Jennifer Van Bergen, [http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20060109_bergen.html "The Unitary Executive: Is The Doctrine Behind the Bush Presidency Consistent with a Democratic State?"] ''FindLaw's Writ'', January 9, 2006.*Armando, [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/10/122117/176 "What A 'Unitary Executive' Means - President As King,"] ''Daily Kos'', January 10, 2006.*Jennifer Van Bergen, [http://www.counterpunch.org/vanbergen01122006.html "The Unitary Executive. Why the Bush Doctrine Violates the Constitution,"] ''CounterPunch'', January 12, 2006.*Sidney Blumenthal, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1684464,00.html "George Bush's rough justice. The career of the latest supreme court nominee has been marked by his hatred of liberalism,"] ''Guardian Unlimited'' (UK), January 12, 2006.*[[Robert Parry]], [http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/011106.html "Alito & the Ken Lay Factor,"] ''consortiumnews.com'', January 12, 2006.*Chrish, [http://www.newshounds.us/2006/01/20/bin_laden_tape_justifies_unitary_executive_on_the_big_story.php "Bin Laden tape justifies Unitary Executive on the Big Story,"] ''News Hounds'', January 20, 2006.*Robert Parry, [http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/012406.html "The End of 'Unalienable Rights',"] ''consortiumnews.com'', January 24, 2006.*Steven C. Clemons, [http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/001262.php "Democratic Imperative: Bush's 'Unitary Executive' Notion Must be Obliterated,"] ''The Washington Note'', February 26, 2006.*Paul Waldman, [http://www.tompaine.comTheory/external articles|External articles/2006/03/08/unitary_executive_or_autocracy.php "'Unitary Executive' Or Autocracy?"] ''TomPaine.com'', March 8, 2006.*[http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/25/the-unitary-executive-part-i-signing-statements/ "The Unitary Executive, Part I: Signing Statements,"] ''The Mahablog'', March 25, 2006.*[http://www.mahablog.com/2006/03/27/the-unitary-executive-part-ii-what-it-is-and-why-its-bad/ "The Unitary Executive, Part II: What is it and why is it bad?"], ''The Mahablog'', March 27, 2006.*James Bovard, [http://www.lewrockwell.com/bovard/bovard26.html "Bush’s Bogus Theory of Absolute Power,"] ''LewRockwell.com'', April 8, 2006.*Chris Floyd, [http://www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=721&Itemid=135 "Insanity Defense: Power, Paranoia and Presidential Tyranny,"] ''Empire Burlesque'', June 29, 2006.*Tom Raum, [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/30/ap/politics/mainD8IIHG380.shtml "Analysis: Wartime Powers Face Scrutiny. Analysis: Guantanamo ruling raises questions on other Bush assertions of wartime powers,"] Associated Press (CBS News), June 30, 2006.*Richard Stengel, [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1209946,00.html?promoid=rss_top "No One Gets a Blank Check,"] ''TIME.com'', July 2, 2006.*Michael Ratner, [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060717/ratner "For His Eyes Only: Bush's Secret Crimes,"] ''The Nation'', July 2, 2006.*Dana Milbank, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071100953.html "It's Bush's Way or the Highway on Guantanamo Bay,"] ''Washington Post'', July 12, 2006.*Doug Smith, [http://www.douglasksmith.com/2006/07/the_unitary_executive_for_dumm.htm "The Unitary Executive for Dummies,"] ''DouglasKSmith.com'', July 13, 2006.*Michael Isikoff and Stuart Taylor Jr., [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13773997/site/newsweek/ "The Gitmo Fallout. The fight over the Hamdan ruling heats up—as fears about its reach escalate,"] ''Newsweek'', July 17, 2006 (issue).*Chris Floyd, [http://www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=780&Itemid=135 "CYA Agents: Bush Hit Men Running Scared,"] ''Empire Burlesque'', August 1, 2006.*Dan Froomkin, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/08/02/BL2006080200815_pf.html "Signing Statements Strike a Nerve,"] ''Washington Post'', August 2, 2006.*[http://www.suntimes.com/output/commentary/cst-edt-edits02.html Commentary: "Bush is signing away our checks and balances,"] ''Chicago Sun-Times'', August 2, 2006.*Aziz Huq, [http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/08/02/were_all_enemy_combatants_now.php "We're All Enemy Combatants Now,"] ''TomPaine.com'', August 2, 2006.