Vice (32 page)

This book would have not been possible without the generous sup-port of colleagues and friends.

Nancy Miller at Random House conceived this project, offered us the opportunity to undertake it, helped shape it, and indulged our requests for deadline extensions. Her assistant, Lea Beresford, was indispensable in keeping editor and authors on the same page. And Random House production editor Beth Pearson and copy editor Emily DeHuff ensured that our grammatical and typographical errors didn't make it into the published text. Our agent, Dan Green, was as good a critical reader of our manuscript as he was a guide through the paper processes and decisions involved in any book contract.

In Washington, D.C., Ann Geracimos provided lodging and insight into the social and power centers of our nation's capital. Frank Smyth also offered a congenial space, which came with insight, advice, moral support, and a foldout couch. Amy Southerland offered us her good counsel as well as the friendship of a fellow writer. In Austin, the editorial staff of
The Texas Observer
allowed one of the editors the freedom to work on this project while other staff bore the extra burden involved in writing and editing an issue every two weeks. Jeanne Goka tolerated the extended absence of a spouse who set up a temporary residence in Washington. And Molly Ivins was generous enough to suspend a collaborative project with one of the authors so that this book could happen. Finally, we are deeply indebted to Peter Lindstrom, a researcher and insightful editor whose collaboration helped make this project possible.

Any nonfiction work rests on a foundation laid by those who have come before. The nature of this book required us to lean heavily on the work of others. Fortunately, despite frequent and often valid criticism of the Fourth Estate, investigative journalism is alive and well in the United States. We are indebted to a number of dedicated and fearless reporters who have faced the threat of prosecution in order to expose the inner workings of the most secretive administration in American history. Sy Hersh, Michael Isikoff, Jane Mayer, Walter Pincus, Dana Priest, James Risen, Charlie Savage, Evan Thomas, and Murray Waas come to mind, but there are many more. Charlie Cray of Halliburton Watch also provided us direction and hard data on the company Dick Cheney directed before Bush selected him as a running mate.

In the course of reporting this book, we have had the good fortune to meet a number of American heroes; some were willing to attach their names to their comments, but many spoke off the record out of fear of reprisal. A number of them are lifelong Republicans who are horrified by the direction in which Dick Cheney is taking our nation. While we do not have the time or space to name them all, three true patriots we feel must be mentioned are Colonel Larry Wilkerson, Bruce Fein, and Lou Fisher. Even when the substance of our discussion with them was grim, their passion and commitment to the American ideal left us filled with hope.

CHAPTER ONE
A Man, a Plan
—
and Names Named

ABC News
This Week.
Interview with Dick Cheney. January 28, 2002.

Abraham, Spencer (Secretary of Energy). Schedule. April 17, 2001.

Barbour, Haley. Memo to Vice President Dick Cheney. March 2, 2001.

Browning, Stephen. E-mail (recipient's name redacted). February 2, 2001.

Buccino, Sharon. Author interview. March 24, 2006.

Contratto, Dana. E-mail to Joseph Kelliher. March 22, 2001.

Fineman, Howard, and Michael Isikoff. "Enron Continues to Roil Washington."
Time,
February 11, 2002.

Fitton, Tom. Author interview. March 27, 2006.

Grodner, Nicole. E-mail to John Flaherty et al. April 2, 2001.

Hagel, Chuck (U.S. senator). Memo and floor remarks text to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. May 11, 2001.

Halsted, T.J. "Walker v. Cheney: Legal Insulation of Vice President Cheney from GAO Investigations."
Presidential Studies Quarterly,
September 2003.

In Re: Richard v. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, et al., Petitioners.
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, May 10, 2005.

Johnson, Jim (Barbour Griffith & Rogers). Memo to Cheryl Alford (Office of the Secretary of Energy), March 20, 2001.

Judicial Watch et al. v. United States Department of Energy,
United States District Court for the District of Columbia. July 1, 2002.

Kelliher, Joseph. E-mail to Kyle McSlarrow et al. April 13, 2001.

———. E-mail to Kyle McSlarrow et al. April 16, 2001.

Knight, Danielle. "Congress Sues White House to Get Cheney Docs."
Global Information Network,
January 31, 2002.

Koppel, Ted. Interview with Dick Cheney. ABC News.
Nightline,
July 26, 2001.

Landsberg, Mitchell, and Miguel Bustillo. "Legislators Unite over Energy Price Issue."
Los Angeles Times,
April 20, 2001.

Lewis, Charles.
The Buying of the President 2004: Who's Really Bankrolling Bush and His Democratic Challengers
—
and What They Expect in Return.
New York: HarperCollins, 2004.

Linehan, LouAnn (Chief of Staff to Sen. Chuck Hagel). Memo to Kyle McSlarrow. March 20, 2001.

Marshall, Joshua Micah. "Vice Grip: Dick Cheney Is a Man of Principles. Disastrous Principles."
Washington Monthly,
January 1, 2003.

Milbank, Dana. "Is Judge's Past Prelude in Cheney Case?"
The Washington Post,
November 26, 2002.

———, and Justin Blum. "Document Shows Cheney Aides, Oil Executives Met."
The Washington Post,
November 16, 2005.

National Energy Policy Development Group. Final Schedule for Chief of Staff. April 15, 2001.

———. "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oil Fields Contracts." March 5, 2001.

———. "Iraqi Oilfields Exploration Blocks." March 5, 2001.

———. "Iraqi Oil Gas Projects." March 5, 2001.

———. "Selected Oil Facilities of the United Arab Emirates." March 2005.

Nichols, John. "What Dick Cheney Knew: An Investigation of the Company's White House Ties Should Begin at His Door."
The Nation,
April 15, 2002.

Pasternak, Judy. "Energy Plan Bares Industry Clout."
Los Angeles Times,
April 26, 2001.

Pianin, Eric, and Dan Morgan. "Oil Executives Lobbied Cheney on Drilling."
The Washington Post,
February 27, 2002.

Shogren, Elizabeth. "President Drops Plans to Curb Carbon."
Los Angeles Times,
March 14, 2001.

Simendinger, Alexis. "Power Plays."
National Journal,
April 17, 2004.

Skelton, George. E-mail response to authors' query. February 9, 2003.

———. "Price Caps Don't Fit in Cheney's Head for Figures."
Los Angeles Times,
April 19, 2001.

Stone, Peter H. "Big Oil's White House Pipelines."
National Journal,
April 7, 2001.

Suskind, Ron.
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.

Tidrick, Donald. "An Interview with Donald Walker."
The CPA Journal,
February 2003.

Van Natta, Don, Jr. "Agency Files Suit for Cheney Papers on Energy."
The Washington Post,
February 23, 2002.

———. "Energy Chief Met Envoys from Industry."
The Washington Post,
March 25, 2001.

———, and Neela Banerjee. "Top GOP Donors in Energy Panel Meet Cheney Panel."
The Washington Post,
March 1, 2002.

Waxman, Henry M. United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform—Minority Staff Division of Special Investigations. "Congressional Oversight of the Bush Administration." January 17, 2006.

———. United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform—Minority Staff Division of Special Investigations. "Congressional Oversight of the Clinton Administration." January 17, 2006.

Weisskopf, Michael, and Adam Zagorin. "Getting the Ear of Dick Cheney."
Time,
February 11, 2002.

York, Byron. "GAO v. Cheney."
The National Review,
January 31, 2003.

———. "Is Cheney Lying?"
National Review Online,
February 1, 2002.

CHAPTER TWO
The Education of Richard B. Cheney

Ashcroft, John. (Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice). Memo to Heads of All Federal Departments and Agencies. October 12, 2001.

Background Memorandum for Oversight Hearings of the Government Information and Individual Rights Subcommittee on the Interception of Non-Verbal Communications by Intelligence Agencies. February 20, 1976. Max L. Friedersdorf Files, box 10, Gerald R. Ford Library.

Blanton, Thomas. Author interview. March 2006.

Buchen, Philip. Memo for the President. Subject: Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. February 3, 1976. Richard B. Cheney Files, 1974-1977, box 5, folder "Federal Trade Commission," Gerald R. Ford Library.

Cannon, James M. Author interview. May 18, 2006.

Cheney, Dick. Handwritten notes. May 29, 1975. Richard B. Cheney Files 1974–1977, box 6, folder "Intelligence—
New Fork Times
Article by Seymour Hersh (1)," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Interview, June 27, 1975. James F. C. Hyde and Stephen J. Wayne collection, Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Interview, February 8, 1977. James F. C. Hyde and StephenJ. Wayne collection, Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Don Rumsfeld. May 22, 1974. Subject: Senator Ted Stevens's Request to Visit Camp David. Richard B. Cheney Files 1974-1977, General Subject File, box 1, folder "Camp David," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Don Rumsfeld. July 8, 1975. Richard B. Cheney Files, 1974-1977, box 10, folder "Solzhenitsyn, Alexander," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Don Rumsfeld. Subject: Status Report—
New York Times
Story on Sunday, May 25, 1975. Richard B. Cheney Files 1974-1977, box 6, folder "Intelligence—
New York Times
Article by Seymour Hersh (2)," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Don Rumsfeld. Subject: Domestic Council Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, June 10. June 9, 1975. Richard B. Cheney Files 1974-1977, General Subject File, box 3, folder "Domestic Council Folder," Gerald R. Ford Libraiy.

———. Memo to Don Rumsfeld. February 15, 1975. Richard B. Cheney Files 1974—1977, General Subject File, box 13, folder "Voting Rights Act Extension," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Don Rumsfeld. May 17, 1975. Subject: Social Security. Richard B. Cheney Files 1974-1977, General Subject File, box 10, folder "Social Security Finances," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Jerry Jones. December 24, 1974. Jerry H. Jones Files 1974-1977, Staff Secretary Files, box 10, folder "White House Memos—Cheney, Dick," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Jerry Jones. January 25, 1975. Jerry H. Jones Files 1974-1977, Staff Secretary Files, box 10, folder "White House Memos—Cheney, Dick (16)," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Jerry Jones. February 14, 1975. Jerry H. Jones Files 1974-1977, Staff Secretary Files, box 10, folder "White House Memos—Cheney, Dick (8)," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Memo to Jerry Jones. April 7, 1975. Jerry H. Jones Files 1974-1977, Staff Secretary Files, box 11, folder "White House Memos—Cheney, Dick," Gerald R. Ford Library.

———. Speech. Hofstra University, April 7, 1989.

———. Question and Answer. National Press Club, Washington, D.C., June 19, 2006.

———. Speech. Waldorf-Astoria, New York, June 30, 2006.

Dean, John. Author interview. May 2006.

Firestone, Bernard J., and Alexej Ugrinsky, eds.
Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1993.

Ford, President Gerald R. July 21, 1976. Letter to W. L. Lindholm, president of AT&T. Presidential Handwriting File, box 51. Gerald R. Ford Library.

———.June 2, 1976. National Security Advisor Memorandum of Conversation. National Security Advisor Memoranda of Conversations, box 19, Gerald R. Ford Library.

———, et al. October 13, 1975, Memorandum of Conversation, National Security Advisor Memoranda of Conversations, box 16, Gerald R. Ford Library.

Hartmann, Robert T. Author interview. May 5, 2006.

———.
Palace Politics: An Inside Account of the Ford Years.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980.

Hersh, Seymour. "Huge C.I.A. Operation Reported in U.S. Against Anti-War Forces, Other Dissidents in Nixon Years."
The New York Times,
December 22, 1974.

Hersh, Seymour M. "Submarines of U.S. Stage Spy Missions Inside Soviet Waters."
The New York Times,
May 25, 1975.

———. "The Pardon: Nixon, Ford, Haig, and the Transfer of Power."
The Atlantic,
August 1983.

Levi, Edward H. " Assertion of Executive Privilege with Respect to a House Committee Subpoena to American Telephone and Telegraph Company." Memorandum. Presidential Handwriting File, box 51, folder "Utilities; Telephone," Gerald R. Ford Library.

Lopez, Dan, Thomas Blanton, Meredith Fuchs, and Barbara Elias, eds. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 142, November 23, 2004.

Mann, James.
Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet.
New York: Viking, 2004.

Marsh, Jack. Author interview. June 1, 2006.

———. Memorandum for the President. Subject: Proposed Legislation on Electronic Surveillance. March 16, 1976. Presidential Handwriting File, box 31, folder "NSI (14–15)," Gerald R. Ford Library.

McCormack, Bruce. "Cheney Says Carter Needs Success in Middle East."
Casper Star-Tribune,
October 5, 1977.

Miller Center of Public Affairs Staff at the University of Virginia.
The Ford White House: A Miller Center Conference Chaired by Herbert J. Storing.
Lanham, Mass.: University Press of America, 1986.

Nessen, Ron.
It Sure Looks Different on the Inside.
Chicago: Playboy Paperbacks, 1979.

Nunn, Lee R. Letter to Bo Callaway. October 2, 1975. Richard B. Cheney Files 1974–1977, Campaign Subject File, box 18, folder "Lee Nunn—Resignation as Political Director 10/12/75," Gerald R. Ford Library.

Ornstein, Norman. Author interview. May 8, 2006.

Osborne, John.
White House Watch: The Ford Years.
New York: New Republic Books, 1977.

Republican Party Platform. "Morality in Foreign Policy." Republican National Convention, 1976.

Richelson, Jeffrey, and Thomas Blanton, eds. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 178. February 4, 2006.

Risen, James, and Eric Lichtblau. "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts."
The New York Times,
December 16, 2005.

Scalia, Antonin. Memorandum for the Honorable Philip W. Buchen, re: Claim of Executive Privilege with respect to materials subpoenaed by the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives. February 17, 1976. Presidential Handwriting File, box 31, Gerald R. Ford Library.

Shabecoff, Philip. "Ford's Primary Losses Split White House Staff as Factions Trade Charges of Laxity,"
The New York Times,
May 24, 1976.

Smith, Donald. "Richard B. Cheney: Rumsfeld's Alter Ego."
Congressional Quarterly,
November 8, 1975.

Thompson, Kenneth W., ed.
The Ford Presidency: Twenty-two Intimate Perspectives of Gerald Ford,
Portraits of American Presidents, vols. VI and VII. Lanham, Mass.: University Press of America, 1988.

Train, Russell E.
Politics, Pollution, and Pandas: An Environmental Memoir.
Washington, D.C.: Island Press, November 2003.

Wilderotter, James A. (Associate Deputy Attorney General). Memo for the File. Subject: CIA Matters. January 3, 1975, Richard B. Cheney Files 1974-1977, box 6, Gerald R. Ford Library.

CHAPTER THREE
Long Strange Trip: Washington to Wyoming to Washington

American Embassy of Nicaragua. Flash Memo to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. June 7, 1979.

Associated Press. "Congressman Says MX Is in Trouble." March 13, 1984.

Barlow, John Perry. Author interview. May 16, 2006.

Barnes, Michael. Author interview. June 26, 2006.

Broder, David S. "Cheney: Cutting Defense 'Unsafe.' "
The Washington Post,
November 17, 1982.

Cannon, Lou. "From the White House to the Hustings: Richard Cheney Wants to Work on Capitol Hill."
The Washington Post,
October 16, 1978.

———. "Reagan Urges 'Dense Pack' in Wyoming."
The Washington Post,
November 23, 1982.

———. "Soviet Hill Speech Blocked; White House Denies Making Invitation."
The Washington Post,
November 21, 1987.

Casper Star-Tribune.
"Cheney Back Home in Casper." June 30, 1978.

———. "Cheney Has 'Lost Patience.' " November 5, 1978.

———. "Cheney Outspends Democrat Bagley." October 12, 1978.

———. "Cheney Outspends GOP Primary Opponents by Comfortable Margin." September 6, 1978.

———. "Cheney War Chest Healthy but Bagley Campaign in Debt." November 1, 1978.

———. "Cheney Will Run After Heart Attack." July 12, 1978.