Justice Department argues against releasing Cheney interview

President Barack Obama's Justice Department is arguing that former Vice President Dick Cheney's interview with prosecutors in the CIA leak case should remain secret for five to 10 years to persuade high-level government officials to cooperate in future investigations. "In making public the vice pesident's interview, you will chill them," Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Smith told Judge Emmet Sullivan during a two-hour hearing Tuesday on a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking release of records about the Cheney interview, which took place in 2004. Sullivan sounded highly skeptical of the government's arguments, but he said he had not decided how he would rule in the case. "Where do I draw the line? This happened five years ago," the judge said. "Would there be impediments to putting this information in a time capsule?" As the hearing concluded, Sullivan said he thought Congress had drawn a "bright line" with language in the Freedom of Information Act that generally exempts information about pending investigations from disclosure, but not closed probes, like the CIA leak case. He also said he would stay any ruling so the government could appeal before he released any documents.