Cheney's Brain Smug, Evasive in Testimony

Dick Cheney’s chief of staff David Addington has long lurked in the shadows of the Bush administration, building its view of the imperial presidency, writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. But yesterday, “Cheney’s Cheney” was forced to step into the light and testify before Congress—and he wasn’t pleased. “Addington’s unbridled hostility was live and unfiltered yesterday,” Milbank writes.

Addington told Congress its opinion on torture laws was “irrelevant.” He professed not to know what the “unitary theory” of executive power was—even though he invented it. And he refused to discuss waterboarding because “al-Qaeda may watch these meetings.” Asked if he would instead speak privately, Addington said, “You have my number. If you issue a subpoena, we’ll go through this again.” (More David Addington stories.)