A great moment from today’s White House press briefing. It’s great to see White House reporters working in concert to at least try to get the truth out.
Q Why does Karl Rove still have security clearance and access to classified documents when he has been revealed as a leaker of a secret agent, according to Time magazine’s correspondent?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there is an investigation that continues, and I think the President has made it clear that we’re not going to prejudge the outcome of that investigation.
Q You already have the truth.
MR. McCLELLAN: We’re not going to prejudge the outcome of that investigation through –
Q Does he have access to security documents?
MR. McCLELLAN: — through media reports. And these questions came up over the last week –
Q Did he leak the name of a CIA agent?
MR. McCLELLAN: As I was trying to tell you, these questions have been answered.
Q No, they haven’t.
Q Let me ask –
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, David.
Q And they most certainly haven’t. I think Helen is right, and the people watching us know that. And related to that, there are now–
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me correct the record. We’ve said for quite some time that this was an ongoing investigation, and that we weren’t going to comment on it, so let me just correct the record.
Q If you want to make the record clear, then you also did make comments when a criminal investigation was underway, you saw fit to provide Karl Rove with a blanket statement of absolution. And that turned out to be no longer accurate –
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, and there were preferences expressed by those overseeing the investigation that we refrain from commenting on it while they’re continuing to look at — investigate it.
Q White House officials have been very clear through their attorneys or through other leaks to make it known that it was essentially journalists who educated them about who Valerie Plame was, what she did, and her role in sending her husband to Niger. It has now come to light that in fact White House officials were aware, or at least had access to a State Department memo that the President’s own Secretary of State at the time had with him when he was traveling on Air Force One to Africa, which indicated both who she was, what she did, and her role in the Niger trip. So did the White House, in fact, know about her through this memo, or not?
MR. McCLELLAN: I thank you for wanting to proceed ahead with the investigation from this room, but I think that the appropriate place for that to happen is through those who are overseeing the investigation. The President directed us to cooperate fully, and that’s exactly what we have been doing and continue to do.
Q But you don’t deny that attorneys for Rove and others in the White House are speaking about these matters, creating a lot of these questions, right, that you say you can’t speak to?
MR. McCLELLAN: As I said, we’re not getting into talking about an ongoing investigation. That’s what the President indicated, as well.
Reporters with teeth again! American heroes!!!
July 21st, 2005 at 6:41 pmWhat are WE paying McClellan anyway? Wouldn’t a broken record player be cheaper?
July 21st, 2005 at 7:30 pmplease let that state department memo be in Bush’s hands on that flight… Chimpeachment!
July 21st, 2005 at 7:34 pmThey definately need a robot up there – much easier – Should check with Dr Who if any Darlecs are available
July 21st, 2005 at 7:38 pm“Destroy…Destroy, I mean – ongoing investigation – ongoing investigation”
“They definately need a robot up there – much easier ”
How are we to know McClellan himself isn’t a robot; they may well already have a one up there.
July 21st, 2005 at 7:56 pmUnfortunately, McCellan has never leaked the eight classified pages of the submission that Fitzgerald provided to the court which resulted in the imprisonment of the reporter. I suspect, friends, that when the information in those pages come to light there will be a bunch of new faces in the White House long before 2009. I will offer my usual odds ($20 to a glass of warm pee) that DUHbya and company will not see another 4th of July in Washington DC unless it be through bars.
July 21st, 2005 at 7:58 pmMccain just avoided every question on “Softball” pertaining to CIA leak. He passed them off as “minutia” and “innocent til guilty”.
We would not know about Plame without Rove.
This is an incomplete list of folks who have publicly supported Karl Rove and/or dismissed the CIA as putting too high a regard on Plame’s classified status. I email them frequently to express my concern with WH behavior.
Rep. King, Peter (R-NY-3rd)
July 21st, 2005 at 8:30 pmSen. Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R-TX)
Sen. Cornyn, John (R-TX)
Sen. Coleman, Norm (R-MN
Rep. Blunt, Roy (R-MO-7th
Sen. Graham, Lindsey (R-SC)
Sen. McCain, John (R-AZ)
Brian,
July 21st, 2005 at 9:06 pmThanks for the list. You should forward that to Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo, who is starting a list: talk@talkingpointsmemo.com
Poor Scotty McClellan
Where is Jeff Gannon when the GOP needs him :(
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:48 amWow! I’ve hit six different sites, and I haven’t read one troll comment. They are soiling themselves in abject terror!
July 22nd, 2005 at 4:46 amNow is the time to backtrack on your favorite threads – cut and paste their treasonous twaddle, and spoon feed it back to them whenever they appear!
“I thank you for wanting to proceed ahead with the investigation from this room, but I think that the appropriate place for that to happen is through those who are overseeing the investigation.”
Don’t you get snippy with us, young lady. You are getting paid good money to defend this administration’s lies with lies of your own. If you aren’t completely delighted with life in the BushCo Shangri-La, a person of your obvious talent and charisma should have no problem finding employment in the custodial or food service industries.
July 22nd, 2005 at 11:38 amKevo,
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:54 pmThat’s “either the food service or housekeeping industries”.
Reply to #6 Don… before you get ahead of yourself, remember a few things. 1) there is a HIGHLY parisan House that will never, ever, not in a bajillion years bring charges against Supply Side Jesus’ profit, Duhbuhya. 2) if some miracle does happen, it won’t be until after the 2006 elections, when maybe there will be a shift in congress. Realistically, the Senate may shift back. The House, not likely. 3) Unless you can get the goods on both Duhbuhya and Heartattack Dick then we get Cheney as prez… scary thought there. If they do both get nailed, then we get Hastert the Bastert… again, not a pretty picture.
In the end some Republican party apparatchek will fall on his sword, do some time until pardoned by the pres. My hope is that this will cause enough people to wise up in the mid term election and vote these crooks out.
July 22nd, 2005 at 2:05 pmIt’s highly unlikely any of Bush’s cronies will do time. If a trial proceeds and a guilty verdict seems on its way, Bush will simply pardon the offender. If Bush himself is caught in the web, the Republicans will stymie any committees trying to explore impeachment. If Bush faces impeachment we will see the mothers of all filibusters coming from the anti-filibuster Republicans. If Bush falls and Cheney steps in, he will immediately pardon Bush, and any others. If they need a scapegoat to do some prison time to mollify the public, to make it seem as if the “bad actor” was brought to justice, it is unlikely this martyr will go along if the possible sentence is too long for a post-prison exploitation. If there is any conviction, and if it carries a long sentence, Bush or Cheney or Hastert will pardon the person and if that is not feasible, they will find a friendly appeals judge to whack the sentence down to time served. The “martyr” will then write a book, get paid big bucks speaking at conservative events and end up a contributing commentator on Fox. Just follow the Oliver North saga. This rat bastard is held up as a hero to Republicans. Something along the lines of the Ollie North scenario will play out in this case. Indictments probably, trials maybe, verdicts hopefully but pardons most definitely.
My expectation is that Bush and Co. would normally want to speed up the process. They would do this because they have so much contempt for the American attention span, unfortunately not without reason. When indictments and trial seem inevitable, they would want to matter hurried so pardons could be issued long before the 2006 elections. Currently, this does not seem probable. Indictments and trials may not begin until next spring. This will keep the scandal in the news well into the election cycle, damaging all Republicans. So what we can expect is a massive continuation of delay tactics.
My best guess is that in this climate, Bush and Co. will initiate on their own high profile investigations of Democrats. They will leak to the public just prior to the election that certain Democratic leaders are under investigation by the FBI. Using their considerable clout with the MSM, they will try to get equal or better press coverage for these specious investigations, and once the election is over, if their ploy succeeds in their retention of total control, the investigations will miraculously disappear.
My advice: Democratic leaders watch your backs.
July 22nd, 2005 at 4:17 pmsports betting systems
Please check the sites in the field of what were the betting odds against buster douglas
October 12th, 2005 at 12:19 amIt’s a loss cause, the damage by Bush and his administration is done with the full support of the press !!.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:01 pm