White House Press Briefing: Cheney, Fish or Fowl?

During today's White House press briefing, the main topic was Dick Cheney's history-busting claim that he's not a part of the Executive branch of government.  

Q Dana, as long as we're talking about branches of government, can you go back to Vice President Cheney again, the argument that he's not part of the executive branch. Does the President believe he's part of the executive branch?

MS. PERIONO:  I think that that is an interesting constitutional question, and I think that lots of people can debate it.

But apparently Ms. Periono isn't one of those "lots of people," because this how her side of the debate went:

I'm not opining on it...

I'm not opining on it either way.

Look, I'm not a legal scholar...

I'm not opining on his argument that his office is making.

I don't know.

I don't know why the EO was amended in 2003...

I have not asked the President if he's concerned about that...

I don't know why he made the arguments that he did, but --

I'm not opining on that, and I'm not going to comment on it.

I don't know that to necessarily be true...and I'm just -- I don't have the legal mind that can draw those two together.

But in the end, she cleared everything up:

Q Okay. And just lastly, it's a little surreal -- I mean, how is it possible --

MS. PERINO: You're telling me.

Q Well -- that you can't give an opinion about whether the Vice President is part of the executive branch or not?

MS. PERINO: All I know is that --

Q It's a little bit like somebody saying, "I don't know if this is my wife or not." (Laughter.)

MS. PERINO: I think it's a little bit more complicated than that.

Q No, but honestly, I mean, there's no --

MS. PERINO: No, honestly, I think it's more complicated than that. I do.

Dick Cheney, neither fish nor fowl.  But he's definitely foul.