WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- An aide to Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly has the job of seeing to it that new legislation would not infringe on presidential power.
David Addington, Cheney's legal adviser and chief of staff, also is the Bush administration's chief architect on the "signing statements" procedure which the president has tacked onto more than 750 laws, the Boston Globe says.
That designation says the president has the right to ignore those laws conflict with his interpretation of the Constitution.
Such items as the option of bypassing a ban on torture and numerous requirements on providing certain information to Congress fall under that umbrella.
Using signing statements, the administration has challenged more laws than all previous administrations combined.
