- Executive Order 13292
Executive Order 13292 is an executive order issued by
United States PresidentGeorge W. Bush onMarch 25 2003 , entitled "Further Amendment toExecutive Order 12958 , as Amended, Classified National Security Information." The Executive Order modified the manner in which sensitive information was handled, set out by PresidentBill Clinton 's 1995 executive order. An [http://www.bushsecrecy.org/page.cfm?PagesID=31&ParentID=2&CategoryID=2 extensive analysis] of the changes from the previous executive order was compiled by the groupPublic Citizen .ignificance
President Clinton's signed order set mandatory deadlines for all classified material and made it harder for politicians to classify material. President Bush's order seems to retain the same structure as President Clinton's order but has key parts changed which allow great flexibility in what can be classified and for how long; the wording is hard to decipher in some areas. This order gave the President and even now the Vice President more control over what was classified and for how long; this order is strange for a few reasons which were brought up during its signing and are continually being asked.
The significance of this executive order was a subject that Vice President
Dick Cheney discussed in aFebruary 15 ,2006 interview that was mostly focused on the hunting incident that had occurred a few days earlier. That interview included a few questions on a comment byScooter Libby related to thePlame 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 further evidence of real power in the vice president's office.External links
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030325-11.html Further Amendment to Executive Order 12958, As Amended, Classified National Security Information] , "
White House ",March 25 ,2003
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060215-3.html Interview of the Vice President by Brit Hume, FOX News] , a transcript from theWhite House website
* [http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york200602160841.asp The Little-Noticed Order That Gave Dick Cheney New Power] , a February 2006 "National Review " article
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