RIDICULE > RULE OF LAW?

It's a little hard for me to believe that a DOJ official made that argument in court. CREW has been trying to get the FBI's Cheney interview about the Plame leak and Pres. Obama's Justice Dept. is fighting to keep the interview secret.

Judge to review Cheney interview with FBI
Jun 18 06:59 PM US/Eastern
By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge said Thursday that he wants to look at notes from the FBI's interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney during the investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan's decision to review the documents followed arguments by Obama administration lawyers that sounded much like the reasons the Bush administration provided for keeping Cheney's interview from the public.

Justice Department lawyers told the judge that future presidents and vice presidents may not cooperate with criminal investigations if they know what they say could become available to their political opponents and late-night comics who would ridicule them.

"If we become a fact-finder for political enemies, they aren't going to cooperate," Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Smith said during a 90-minute hearing. "I don't want a future vice president to say, `I'm not going to cooperate with you because I don't want to be fodder for 'The Daily Show.'"