Cheney wanted to expand his executive branch power -- despite claiming he's not part of the executive branch

For the past couple months, Dick Cheney has been claiming he's not part of the executive branch. It's a bizarre claim, but Cheney sticks with it. So, why, then, would Cheney's lawyer try to expand the power of the executive branch if Cheney isn't part of the executive branch? That would be expecting consistency when that mattered was power and abusing power:

Vice President Cheney's top lawyer pushed relentlessly to expand the powers of the executive branch and repeatedly derailed efforts to obtain congressional approval for aggressive anti-terrorism policies for fear that even a Republican majority might say no, according to a new book written by a former senior Justice Department official.

David S. Addington, who is now Cheney's chief of staff, viewed both U.S. lawmakers and overseas allies with "hostility" and repeatedly opposed efforts by other administration lawyers to soften counterterrorism policies or seek outside support, according to Jack L. Goldsmith, who frequently clashed with Addington while serving as head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in 2003 and 2004.

These are some evil people running our government.