Breaking: White House Stonewalls on Rove
Breaking: White House Stonewalls on Rove
Finally, the White House press corps gets its act together.
Scott McClellan’s press briefing is beginning now (you can watch it live here) — but a reporter inside today’s untelevised press gaggle just shot us an email. Apparently McClellan was asked 5 different times about the Rove revelations, and 5 different times he said he “would not comment on an ongoing investigation.”
UPDATE: This press briefing is stunning. McClellan is refusing to say anything at all, not one word, about the Plame case. The reporters are outraged – NBC’s David Gregory just told McClellan that his stonewalling was “ridiculous.”
UPDATE II: McClellan’s line is that he will not comment on the investigation until the “appropriate time, which is when the investigation has concluded.” Actually, that’s not true — at all. The investigation began on September 28, 2003.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
I can’t tell online who the reporter was who asked the ridiculous comment about “Karl Rove’s fabulous speeches”…what a tool!
Also, the point is very good that the president has the power to clean up this scandal independent of criminal action.
July 11th, 2005 at 1:26 pmI guess the blood is in the water, and the sharks are hungry. About damn time.
July 11th, 2005 at 1:27 pmI have a post up at http://cardcarryingmember.blogspot.com hypothesizing about the whole tawdry affair.
July 11th, 2005 at 1:29 pmBut gee, Scotty…you had no trouble commenting on this ongoing investigation before!
http://www.thismodernworld.com/weblog/mtarchives/week_2005_07_10.html#002315
Hmmm…I can’t wait to read the transcript on this one when it comes out….
July 11th, 2005 at 1:29 pmThe “tool” is Les Kinsolving.
July 11th, 2005 at 1:33 pmhttp://www.redstate.org/story/2005/7/10/23368/2989
|| RedState.org
So let’s review – Wilson lied about how he got to Niger, he lied about seeing a report that didn’t even exist at the time, he lied about the conclusions of his own report(!), he lied about what the administration had been told, and his wife, Valerie Plame, specifically sent him on a mission to intentionally debunk a claim, not to find facts or perform inspections. I’d say the WaPo’s conclusion is pretty sound on this one.
Also, it certainly gives life to the question of why the heck these two lied so darn much in absence of a clear and compelling political agenda driving their every move. Let’s not rush to make these partisan hacks into saints – they attempted to cook the books against the administration and got busted for being the compulsive liars that they are. In the course of attempting to discredit the ludicrously false claims, someone in the White House (presumably Rove) told the press that Wilson was sent to Niger on dubious premises in the first place (the recommendation of his wife), without giving the name of Wilson’s wife, which Rove apparently did not know.
When this story first broke on the scene, I thought that Rove should properly be banished from the administration team, despite the fact that even at that time it was pretty clear that no crime took place. However, given the serial and politically motivated lies of Wilson and Plame, it’s clear that the fairy tale the liberals have constructed in which Plame was the heroic CIA agent unjustly outed by Arch-Demon Karl Rove is totally and completely false – and I won’t be shedding any more tears about either of their fates.
July 11th, 2005 at 1:35 pm–
defeatist n. 1. one who incurs culpability by persistently and inexplicably neglecting to do harm to himself; 2. the pejorative term for a surviving member of the Royal Unassisted Human Flight Society. Known commonly as a Moonbat
Scott looks like a bumbling fool! Every time he’s asked a question not related to Rove, he goes on and on repeating catch phrases like “It’s hard work,” apparently to take up time! Priceless!
July 11th, 2005 at 1:42 pmThat’s right, Cameron. You don’t need to see any identification…These aren’t the ‘droids you’re looking for…Move along…
July 11th, 2005 at 1:54 pmCameron, where do you get your misinformation from?
July 11th, 2005 at 2:03 pmCameron-
can you please point us to a legit new(s) story concerning the claims that you have made in post #6?
July 11th, 2005 at 2:04 pmCameron,
I bet there is a starbucks near by you. Stop in and smell the coffee.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:04 pmred state – “without giving the name of Wilson’s wife, which Rove apparently did not know.”
This is a red herring if I’ve ever seen one. Even if the press had reported “Wilson’s wife” instead of Valerie, the outing is still an outing. And the act is just as despicable.
You can’t put Wilson and Rove in the same boat – Wilson & Plame who spent their lives as career public servants and Rove who you correctly identify as a political hack. The Bush govt has never encouraged alternate points of view such as Wilson’s, which turned out to be true all the way… I would be enraged if I were in his shoes as well.
Oh, by the way, Wilson never lied. And he was right.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:05 pmWhy do you hate the CIA’s anti-proliferation efforts, Cameron?
July 11th, 2005 at 2:05 pmScotty. Resistance is futile.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:05 pmI think Cameron’s more of a Kool-Aid fan…
July 11th, 2005 at 2:06 pm“Twisting slowly in the wind.”
July 11th, 2005 at 2:06 pmIf you haven’t watched the briefing yet – go immediately to the white house website and watch it. I couldn’t tell which McClellan was going to do first, cry or throw up. Not that he’s the real problem here, but man did he earn his paycheck today.
My sides still hurt…
July 11th, 2005 at 2:07 pmGee Cameron. Interesting in all your attempts to counterspin this story, you forget that THERE WERE NO WMDs IN IRAQ!! Wilson (and Blix for that matter) were proven to be correct.
The arrogant, bumbling stupidity of the Bush administration is constantly proven out by the facts. Rove, Faux News, and the Right-Wing Noise Machine are always spinning fairy tales for you true believers and punishing the truth tellers.
Spin this: Bin Laden is still at large. We owe billions of dollars in foreign debt. There are MORE terrorist atacks worldwide since Bush foolishly invaded Iraq and worldwide support for America is at an alltime low.
But things are going great, right Cameron? Oh, I’m being a negative liberal by pointing out uncomfortable truths?
If you want to find the liars, look no further than your precious White House, instead of projecting it onto the Wilsons, who have been punished enough.
But the truth is finally coming out, so you might want to prepare yourself. You can only spin and twist reality so much before you crash. I hope you have a soft landing when reality hits.
I’m a liberal, after all, so I care.
“They [conservatives] love America like a child loves his mommy. And mommy can do no wrong. We [liberals] love America like an adult loves someone — recognizing our mate might have some faults and taking the good with the bad and always working to appreciate what’s there and being critical of what’s wrong and trying to help make it better.” [Al Franken]
July 11th, 2005 at 2:15 pmCameron, You! are! so! adorable!
My fave-raves from your impeccably well-sourced comments:
“totally and completely” (as opposed to… “partially and completely”?)
“I won’t be shedding any more tears” (even if metaphorical, did the fates of the Wilsons really ever choke you up?)
But seriously, how do you explain away these factual elephants (sources upon request):
Wilson’s report on Niger turned out to be true.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:16 pmPlame worked on WMD for the CIA. What is you evidence for denying that she is “heroic?” Seems like a pretty heroic job to me, especially acc. to the expansive definition of “heroic” used by the right (cf. references to Bush’s heroic handling of 9/11).
The CIA itself said the trip was not Plame’s idea.
If you have such contempt for liars, how on earth can you support Bush, whose prevarications are legion, and well-documented?
I can’t tell online who the reporter was who asked the ridiculous comment about “Karl Rove’s fabulous speeches�…what a tool!
Les Kinsolving, read all his drivel at WingNutDaily. He pulled a Gannon. I always thought that homophobe Kinsolving was a closeted and bitter old queen.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:17 pmVid not up yet at whitehouse.gov
July 11th, 2005 at 2:18 pmWhat happened to Redstate.org? Oh jeez, I just answered my own question!
July 11th, 2005 at 2:22 pmCameron, where do you get your misinformation from?
Comment by Rusty Shackleford
Listen up, troll. If you are going to impersonate me, at least get my name right.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:25 pmScott looks like a bumbling fool!
Correction: McClelland IS a bumbling fool. Why do you think Ari quit? Only a bumbling fool would try to put lipstick on this pig and spray perfume on that turd.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:29 pmI think “CameRove” is a better moniker. What a bunch of BS!
July 11th, 2005 at 2:36 pmWhite House Tightens Lips on Rove
FINALLY . Even Teflon wears out eventually…… Are things starting to get sticky for the neocons? I have said it many many times (though maybe not here), that these people do not exist in some insanely organized and impenetrable fortress.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:40 pmOne thing Cameron and his like-minded friends have forgotten…
After Wilson’s Op-Ed, the 16 words were dropped from the State of the Union Address.
July 11th, 2005 at 2:47 pmI think you are confused. Wilson said there were not WMD. Is that the lie you are talking about. This is all about the parts for the nuclear process that have been gotten from Africa. That was lie. There were no WMD or parts from Africa. Wilson told the truth. Buch was again the liar
Your not on the same pills that Rush is on?
However, given the serial and politically motivated lies of Wilson and Plame, it’s clear that the fairy tale the liberals have constructed in which Plame was the heroic CIA agent unjustly outed by
July 11th, 2005 at 2:47 pmDr. K
Ari knows which end of the pig to put the lipstick on. That’s important.
July 11th, 2005 at 3:16 pmThat Cameron fellow is a genius…he’s figured out that all of the statements about how Wilson was totally correct about that Nigerian yellowcake were MAGICALLY CONJURED by Wilson and his treasonous wife (you know, the traitor who was working against weapons proliferations…I hate the commies that do that sort of work!). Also, they macially tricked the entire intelligence establishment into letting them go to Nigeria to cast their spells, and all those statements from Condi where she admitted that those words shouldn’t have been in the speech were ALSO conjured by that warlock Wilson! And you guys thought there was a scandal here!…Liberal commies…
July 11th, 2005 at 3:16 pmRove doesn’t know my mother, either, but he didn’t mention her. IOW, why mention “Mrs. Wilson” AT ALL, if it wasn’t because of her ID as “CIA operative Valerie Plame”? Even Novak got that drift!
July 11th, 2005 at 3:23 pmPuh-leeze.
Oh, and Cameron? Scotty must not agree with your assessment, as he was mighty shaky today!
Three more weeks, and he’ll “want to spend more time with [his] family”!! HAHA!
Mike Moore has the video….
July 11th, 2005 at 3:34 pmhttp://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/scotty_rove_71105.wmv
cameron will be eating crow soon enough. leave the poor simpleton alone. i’m still waiting for john bolton’s prints to be found all over this bad fingerpainting. scooter and karl’s are a given.
July 11th, 2005 at 3:34 pmhow far they’ve mutated in the white house from preening mock outrage and pretending to want to get to the bottom of this to the (fingers in ears) lalalala i can’t hear you mode that prevails now.
From the last paragraph (where they usually hide the good stuff)Camerons’ “source”:
The agency did not examine forged documents that have been widely cited as a reason to dismiss the purported effort by Iraq until months after it obtained them. The panel said it still has “not published an assessment to clarify or correct its position on whether or not Iraq was trying to purchase uranium from Africa.”
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
So, a republican-controlled senate has issued a report, in which they didn’t even bother to look at the evidence? Sounds like a real impartial group to me, how about you, Cameron?
July 11th, 2005 at 3:39 pmhttp://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/07/11.html#a3868
Has the video
July 11th, 2005 at 3:39 pmOf course, regardless of the facts here, Cameron seems to think its okay to commit an act of treason against someone who disagrees with you politically, right?
Fascist.
July 11th, 2005 at 3:46 pmHow frustrating. Newsweek hits the streets with dramatic news about Rove and none of the media outlets deigns to mention it. CNN did make a feeble attempt to cover McClellan’s press conference but cut away just when Scott was getting peppered good by Washington correspondents asking about Rove. I had to switch to C-Span to hear the rest of it. What did they cut away for? More speculation about the Supreme Court and an update on Dennis. This was all during a segment anchored by Wolf Blitzer. I checked out MSNBC…no mention of the press conference or the Newsweek revelation there, either. What is American journalism coming to? If I didn’t know better, I would conclude that there was a conspiracy to avoid unflattering news about this presidential administration.
July 11th, 2005 at 3:53 pm“Deep Thought” says Plames name came to Karl Rove via John Bolton’s sneaking peeks at secret operative names at the CIA. Same info Bush is withholding from Dem senators on Foreign relations committee reviewing Bolton nomination for UN ambassador.
July 11th, 2005 at 3:54 pmTo the twit who accused Joe Wilson of having a “partisan agenda”—what are you smoking? Were you too ignorant to know that Wilson was the faithful GOP servant of bth Reagan AND Bush Sr? And to accuse his wife, a longtime CIA operative, of being some kind of committed leftie is equally ludicrous.
I would say that the only person who HASN”T lied in this whole mess is Joe Wilson. The White House has already racked up a shameful list of prevarications on everything from the Iraq War to Jessica Lynch to the estate tax. I’d say it is THEIR credibility that should be rightfully called into question, not Wilson’s!
July 11th, 2005 at 4:12 pmthis is real similar to the usual defense of the bush admin. Instead of proving the evidance wrong they attack the messenger, and the truth is not important when you have a bunch of media attack dogs.
July 11th, 2005 at 4:28 pmThe really sad thing is that Cameron isn’t one of the crazy “wingnuts” over at redstate.org. I’m just giving this up as a referance as to what MOST of that sites sandbox looks like.
July 11th, 2005 at 4:44 pmRE: Cameron and other Bush apologists
Isn’t it simply amazing how everyone’s actions regarding their opposition to the administration’s Iraq policy seem to be motivated by a base personal political agenda, unlike our hardworking President of the United States and his team of patriots? ;-)
July 11th, 2005 at 4:56 pmBob Ladin, I was surmising the EXACT same thing about John Bolton being a key figure. There is no way conclusions can be denied this far into their “game.” It is painfully clear, to those who can see beyond thier noses, that Cheney’s ‘boy’ Bolton is the individual who uncovered Plame.
Cheney is connected to Bolton.
Bolton is connected to Karl Rove.
Karl Rove is connected to George Bush.
These four individuals hold nearly all of the power driving this administration. Which is, actually, ending up to be good news for American’s that insist on truth. With only a small number of folks, they have able to keep it in the family, however, when the dam breaks, they have no one but each other.
I’m in a ‘red state’ and really appreciate this website. Not a lot of engaging conversation here. I actually asked on neocon here at work to give me her thoughts on the Karl Rove mess, she said, “who’s Karl Rove?” OY VEY!!!
July 11th, 2005 at 5:11 pmOne imagines that few people need to know the identities of CIA deep cover operatives. The question that comes to my mind is how the hell Rove came to know of Plame’s role. Whose ‘Needs to Know’ list was he on? Who told him about her and when, and for what legitimate reason of national security? What discussions did he have about her with others?
This is not a cheap issue. It is called the security of the nation and the integrity of the nation’s security networks. Outing Plame by definition outed her network, presumably putting them at risk and destroying many years of painstaking intelligence gathering.
How did Rove come into possession of information about Plame’s role and why did he need to know?
July 11th, 2005 at 5:46 pmproud, the proper response to, “Who’s Karl Rove?” Is “He’s a celebrity accused of molesting children. That’s why he’s on the news so much.”
July 11th, 2005 at 5:48 pmThis is soooooo good! Pass the popcorn………….time to settle in for some just desserts.
July 11th, 2005 at 6:00 pmVideo now on Whitehouse website as well: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
July 11th, 2005 at 6:18 pmyou just know that the scrub is itching to issue a presidential pardon.
Rove your a smart litle dick, but I’m the preez by god and only I can save you.
But Mr. President, I have not yet been convicted!
No mind, I’m gonna do it anyway, its my perogatory (sic)
July 11th, 2005 at 6:19 pmCameron, Cameron. Oh my goodness gracious me. Not only is Joe Wilson not a lefty liberal (for which he would otherwise be damned to the deepest pit of hell I’m sure), but neither is pretty much most of the other fairly big named conservative repub types who have been giving it to us straight for, what, seems like an eternity.
Let’s list them folks!
Richard Clarke
Gen. Shinseki
Karen Kwiatkowski, Lt. Col. USAF (ret.)
General Anthony Zinni,U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
That’s just off the top of my head. C’mon expand the list. Can’t be damned ol lefty liberals like me! You know, folks with info that would have had Clinton char broiled in a moment.
Let the game begin!
July 11th, 2005 at 6:21 pmjohn b
re: Security access.
I agree. How did Rove get access to ‘eyes-only’ (Restricted Access Top Secret) materials?
I worked with classified materials when I was in USAF 30 yrs ago, but was never cleared for that level of material. To get access you need more than a need to know. The information has to be “vital and necessary” to the performance of your duties. This is major serious. If Rove had access to the list of active covert agents, he may have been in violation of law if he had no reason or need to access the material.
CIA will not admit to ANY classification level over Top Secret, but the special access programs and data exist. Some is so cassified that it is supposedly stamped “Burn Before Reading”. Point is, Rove may be in very deep trouble. Can’t say I’m particularly surprised. Evil always trips over it’s tongue (actually anatomically somewhat lower that trips Rove. Gee, Do you think Guckert/Gannon is involved?). This looks like so much fun if it goes the right way!
July 11th, 2005 at 6:22 pmIt’s not enough to catch the alligators. We have to drain the swamp, starting with a Constitution that allow the endless accumulation of wealth.
July 11th, 2005 at 6:29 pmIt is difficult to believe how many dumb, uninformed, biased people there are out there – and most seem to post to this site. Do “red-state” or “Cameron” or any of the other nikulturny ever read anything? Reading their posts gives the impression that they live in a vacuum, underground, and emerge only to rant to the ignorant. Rove was outraged when Ambassador Joseph Wilson (a Republican) exposed the oft-repeated lies of the White House and then went public. Out of pure spite and in retaliation, Rove outed a CIA operative who specialized in protecting our nation from WMD’s. There is no way he could not have known her status, with the sources at his disposal! You don’t have to be a “liberal” to understand this or to realize that such an action is a serious felony!
July 11th, 2005 at 6:44 pmkyleb!
Too late! The truth is no longer non-partisan. Sigh. It’s liberal. Can’t help it, dammit! You speak the truth, you’re branded liberal. Waddya gonna do?
July 11th, 2005 at 6:50 pmCheck out the Scotty lines from Raw Story: http://rawstory.com/news/2005/TRANSCRIPT_WHITE_HOUSE_GRILLED_0711.html
July 11th, 2005 at 6:56 pmTime to give every one of the treasonous bastards a fair trial then Hang Em. Thats about what they have been doing to America. Be nice to see them all in Gitmo surviving under the rules they set.
July 11th, 2005 at 8:20 pmWhile Rove waits futilely for Scotty to beam him up, let’s hope our intrepid media drones are once and for all on the job now.
Even though Rove hasn’t much scalp left, I think this could be fairly claimed as one, seeing as how the SCLM would have reported in perpetuity on Paris Hilton and Michael Jackson riding sharks in hurricanes, were it not for the stout warriors of the internets. They drove to the golf course, set the ball on the tee, got Happy Gilmore on the ball with the 3 wood. All the news-readers have to do is get off their asses long enough to sink a two-foot putt.
Score another one for the pajamahadeen. Nice work, folks. See you at the 19th hole, and then we can go piss on Karl Rove’s political grave.
July 11th, 2005 at 8:34 pmI’ll love to watch them crash and burn!! It’s about time!!
July 11th, 2005 at 9:24 pmCameron dutifully parroted the White House talking points (I wonder if they’re still coming from Rove on this one). He got his feed from RedState.org, and their whole ‘Wilson is a liar’ theme is based on a shoddy piece of work by Susan Schmidt at the Washington Post from July 10, 2004. In it she wrote about the release of a report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence regarding the question of how the Niger-Iraq reference made it into Bush’s State of the Union speech.
Cameron, did you even read the Senate committee’s report? Did you even read Schmidt’s piece that originally reported on it? If you go to that link (It’s on the RedState.org page ), http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39834-2004Jul9.html?referrer=emailarticle you’ll find that the WaPo issued a correction. Schmidt confused references to an Iran-Niger connection (true) with one involving Iraq and Niger (false). For further clarification on Schmidt’s story, and a sound debunking of today’s right wing Wilson-as-liar meme, see how Talking Points Memo took the spin out of Schmidt’s story when it first came out: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_07_04.php#003143
July 11th, 2005 at 10:19 pmAnd one more thing, Cameron. Don’t be so freakin’ lazy. You cut-and-pasted right off of RedState.org!
July 11th, 2005 at 10:26 pmBut bootz, previously chewed ideas are easier to digest, and easier to swallow!
July 11th, 2005 at 11:43 pmit’s aabout time we clean the white house of the cancer that afflicts it get them all impeached!. Save America and the American way.
July 11th, 2005 at 11:46 pmIt would seem that Rove found out about Plame from one of 2 people: Miller, who has worked in and around WMD for many years and has even been suspected of moonlighting as an intelligence operative; or Bolton, he of the unusually curious nature.
FWIW, I recall that Berger took “copies” of documents and destroyed/lost them. He did not have access to the originals, so I’m not sure it should be called stealing. He took notes (against the rules) and removed copies (against the rules); he was caught; he fessed up; he was punished. And people want to say that Berger is worse than Rove? Boggles the mind…
Lastly, after watching the CSpan Scotty-Fest, I’m have 2 questions: 1) How odd that the press conference opens with a reminder of what happened in Srebrenica 10 years ago. If Bush thinks it was so horrible an event, I wonder why he forgot to discuss the reaction of the US to it? Oh, I forgot, that was some other administration.
July 11th, 2005 at 11:50 pm2) Who is the new Gannon replacement that Scotty reached out to in his time of need? His name in the transcript is Goyal. His question includes the quote “the President is doing a great job as far as fighting against terrorism is concerned”. Gag me.
Raghubir Goyal is no Gannon, he is just an eccentric reporter from India Globe who ususally asks some arcane question about about how bad Pakistan is, but serves the purpose by changing the subject. He may not get RNC talking points, but the subject-changing is good enough for Scottie.
Lester Kinsolving is the other clown that still remains in the WHPC.
July 12th, 2005 at 9:53 amBut I guess Goyal has been promoted now to the Gannon seat.
July 12th, 2005 at 9:55 amAs I watched the hapless McClellan attempt to fend off the barrage of questions from a revived press corps, my first inclination was to pity the poor man; but, it has occurred to me that he, unlike Colin Powell, could simply resign in disgust if crawling through the muck is too distasteful. Incidentally, has anyone ever counted how many times he uses the phrase, “move forward” (or a derivative thereof) in a single press conference?
July 13th, 2005 at 11:15 amI really like your site
February 15th, 2007 at 2:21 pm