In early June 2006, J. William Leonard, the National Archives' director of information security oversight, wrote David Addington, Vice President Richard Cheney's chief of staff, stating that Cheney was "willfully" violating Executive Order 12958, signed in 1995 by President Bill Clinton (see below and on the following page). The order implemented a "uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information." Cheney was also ignoring a 2003 directive by President Bush that specifically requires any agency "within the executive branch" to make records of "security classification activity" available to the Archives.
Cheney's rationale for noncompliance is that the vice president's office is not an agency of the executive branch. "The reporting requirement does not apply," Cheney's spokeswoman (yes, he has one; her name is Lea Anne McBride) explained last year to the Chicago Tribune, because the Office of the Vice President "has both legislative and executive functions." The vice president's office has made the same argument to keep secret its travel expenses and even the identities of the people who work there.
Leonard disputed Cheney's claim in his letter and offered to refer the question to the attorney general (Page 2), but Addington never replied. Leonard again wrote Addington (Page 3) and, finally, to Alberto Gonzales (Pages 4 to 6). Again, no reply. But after the press derided Cheney for spinning riddles, Addington wrote Sen. John Kerry (page 7) with a new justification for withholding the information: The president's office and the vice president's office are indistinguishable.
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Bonnie Goldstein is a former special investigator to the U.S. Senate and investigative producer for ABC News.
Sen. Patrick Leahy

 (D-), chairman of the  Judiciary Committee, remarked today that Congress was ready to go to court if the White House continues to refuse to comply with subpoenas for information regarding the . Leahy said that the committee could seek to charge the Bush Administration with criminal contempt of Congress if it did not provide public testimony in the matter.

"They’ve chosen confrontation rather than compromise or cooperation," said Leahy on the '' news program. "The bottom line is in the U.S. attorney investigation, we have people manipulating law enforcement. Law enforcement can’t be partisan." 

The investigation questions whether the White House illegally exerted undue political influence in the firing of 8 federal prosecutors.  The Democratic-led investigation could result in a Constitutional showdown over issues of executive privilege and congressional oversight.

The Senate has also subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s office for documents related to the administration’s  within the United States. In this case, lawyers for Vice President Cheney first argued that the Vice President's role in the Senate meant that Cheney wasn't part of the Executive Branch. This legal claim generated substantial criticism and a failed attempt to get funding for Cheney's executive role cut off.  White House lawyer David Addington and others in the administration have since backed away from this argument. 

A number of procedural matters remain before criminal contempt proceedings can begin. The committee must formally reject claims of executive privilege and then must vote to find the President in contempt of Congress. Such a vote must be confirmed by the whole Senate before being sent to a U.S. attorney, who must also concur before a formal charge can be established. The House of Representatives may also bring contempt charges independent of the Senate if it so chooses. Such charges are rarely brought by either body of Congress: just ten cases since 1975, and most result in settlement agreements prior to the commencement of a trial.