By Pete Yost Associated Press WASHINGTON -- A federal judge on Saturday ordered Dick Cheney to preserve a wide range of the records from his time as vice president. The decision by U.S.

The CIA said Wednesday it would begin handing over documents to Congress about the destruction of videotapings showing the harsh interrogation of two terror suspects after the House Intelligence Committee threatened to subpoena two agency officials.

The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush's controversial eavesdropping program that operated warrant-free for five years.

The White House has had to defend Vice President Cheney's decision to opt out of a presidential order regulating the handling of secret information by the executive branch. Cheney's reasoning: His office is not really part of the executive branch.

By FROM NEWS SERVICE REPORTS WASHINGTON House Democrats on Thursday denounced Vice President Dick Cheney's idea of abolishing a government office charged with safeguarding national security information and criticized him for refusing to cooperate with the agency.