Suit filed to keep VP papers public

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Several historians and open-government advocates sued Monday to keep U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's records public and prevent their destruction.

The groups, including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, naming Cheney, the executive offices of the president and vice president, and the National Archives and Archivist Allen Weinstein as defendants, CREW said on its Web site.

CREW said it also is seeking an order mandating preservation of all of the vice president's records pending the lawsuit's outcome.

The plaintiffs say they want to protect information about national security, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, wiretapping, energy and other issues -- information that could be lost if Cheney keeps to his argument that he isn't part of the executive branch.

"We have brought this lawsuit to ensure the records of the American people are preserved," The Dallas Morning News quoted CREW attorney Anne Weismann as saying. "Without judicial intervention, this loss is especially acute."

Cheney's office issued a statement saying it was complying with the law, the Dallas newspaper said.

"The office of the vice president currently follows the Presidential Records Act and will continue to follow the requirements of the law, which includes turning over vice presidential records to the National Archives at the end of the term," Assistant Press Secretary Jamie Hennigan said in a statement.