Steve Helber/AP
After pulling the strings for years, Dick Cheney now finds himself the victim of obscure and arbitrary power: The CIA has rejected the former vice president’s request to declassify information on interrogations that he believed would prove waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques were effective at extracting information from terror detainees. The agency’s stated reason was that “the docs are subject of pending litigation,” according to Politico’s Glenn thrush. “For that reason — and that reason only — CIA did not accept Mr. Cheney’s request for a Mandatory Declassification Review,” the agency said in a statement. “The Agency simply followed the Executive Order. This request was handled in accordance with normal practice by CIA professionals with long experience in information management and release. It was for them a straightforward issue.”