Cheney reportedly halted Justice official's promotion

From The Los Angeles Times: By Richard B. Schmitt

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney blocked the promotion of a Justice Department official who had raised questions about the legality of a secret administration surveillance plan during an unusual standoff with the White House in 2004, Senate investigators were told Wednesday.

The objections raised by the former official, Patrick Philbin, helped persuade the Bush administration to make changes in the National Security Agency program, but not before Philbin was denied a promotion by Cheney, former Deputy Atty. Gen. James B. Comey said in written answers to questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Philbin was under consideration for the No. 2 position in the Office of the Solicitor General, the arm of the Justice Department that represents the government before the Supreme Court.