Dick Cheney is apparently fighting a lawsuit with historians over the right to destroy his official records.

A judge has ordered him to preserve files:

The lawsuit stems from Cheney’s position that his office is not part of the executive branch of government.

This summer, Cheney chief of staff David Addington told Congress that the vice president belongs to neither the executive nor legislative branch of government but rather is attached by the Constitution to Congress. The vice president presides over the Senate.

The lawsuit alleges that the Bush administration’s actions over the past 7½ years raise questions over whether the White House will turn over records created by Cheney and his staff to the National Archives in January.

In 2003, Cheney asserted that the office of the vice president is not an entity within the executive branch.

Two historians and three groups of historians and archivists joined CREW in filing the suit two weeks ago.

He has such hubris. What does he want to hide from historians? Why is he so intent on achieving the right to destroy public records?

I get the feeling Cheney is the sort of guy who would try to drive a truck in order to claim that traffic laws are written for “cars” and he should be exempt from enforcement.