Cheney Claims the King's Privilege: Absolute Immunity from Valerie Plame Wilson's Lawsuit

May 17 (EIRNS)--Oral arguments were held yesterday on whether the civil suit by ousted CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, should be dismissed or allowed to proceed against Dick Cheney, Lewis Libby, Karl Rove, and Richard Armitage -- with Cheney's lawyers claiming that Cheney has total immunity from any civil action, that, in effect, he should be accorded the privileges of a monarch.

Wilson charge that Cheney et al. violated their constitutional and civil rights by exposing Plame's CIA affiliation in retaliation for Joe Wilson's exposure of the fakery of the Niger uranium claim. Cheney and the other defendants argue that they have immunity from civil action, because they were involved in a "policy dispute" as part of their official duties.

Cheney's argument, as presented in a written legal brief filed prior to the hearing, is that the suit should be tossed, because he, as Vice President, is in the same position as the President who is immune from civil lawsuit when acting in an "official" capacity. It's not surprising that Cheney would make such an argument, since he obviously believes he is the President, but it is legally dubious, since under the Constitution, in contrast to the powers assigned to the President, the Vice President has no designated official powers except presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. And clearly illegal conduct--such as leaking classified information, or Cheney ordering Libby to commit perjury or obstruction of justice--is not covered by the immunity doctrine.

Cheney's argument, and that of the others, is so far reaching, that in yesterday's hearing, according to press and wire accounts, federal judge John Bates asked the defendants' lawyers: "So you're arguing there is nothing -- absolutely nothing - these officials could have said to reporters that would have been beyond the scope of their employment?"

Among the issues feared by Cheney, as indicated by his legal brief, is that he and others could be questioned about his claim that President authorized Cheney to in turn direct Scooter Libby to disclose portions of the classified 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq to the New York Times's Judith Miller.

The defendants also claim that allowing the suit to proceed would result in the disclosure of secret information about Plame's "allegedly classified" CIA status and duties -- although it was Cheney and Libby themselves who disclosed this. To which the Wilsons responded: "For the defendants to now say that they cannot be held liable because the information is secret and sensitive is much like the child who kills his parents and begs for mercy on the grounds that he is an orphan."