McClellan On Libby Verdict: White House Needs To ‘Get Out There And Talk About This’
McClellan On Libby Verdict: White House Needs To ‘Get Out There And Talk About This’
Last night on Larry King Live, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan echoed Joseph Wilson’s call for the Bush administration to finally come clean about their actions in the CIA leak case. “I would be advising the White House to get out there and find some way to talk about this,” McClellan said.
Watch it:
While serving in the White House, McClellan orchestrated the White House’s stonewall on the leak story. Time and again, he claimed he could not answer questions about “an ongoing investigation,” even when the questions were unrelated to the investigation.
McClellan claimed last night that Karl Rove and Scooter Libby had lied to him. “Knowing what I know today, I would have never said that back then,” McClellan said, referring to the assurance he gave the public that Rove and Libby were not involved.
McClellan didn’t talk about this quote, leaving it to the current Press Secretary to explain it:
If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday that the White House will continue its “principled stand” of not commenting on the leak issue.
Transcript:
MCCLELLAN: And I think, Larry, it will be interesting to see if the White House can sustain not talking about this through the appeals process. They sustained it for this long, but I think they would be better served as a communications advisor now. I would be advising the White House to get out there and find some way to talk about this in enough detail to answer some of questions that David brings up that are still hanging out there.
GERGEN: That’s really interesting, Larry, that he would have come to that position. That’s a very brave decision to take because I’m sure there are former colleagues of his who would like not to go down that path.
MCCLELLAN: Of course, the lawyer’s always the first to say it’s a legal matter. We’re not going to talk about it. But that’s not always the best advice from a communications standpoint, as David knows.
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50 Responses to “McClellan On Libby Verdict: White House Needs To ‘Get Out There And Talk About This’”
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McClellen is what comes out of your butt.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:19 pmI TRUST Scott McClellan…
…to mislead me too…
March 7th, 2007 at 12:21 pmI think I’ll hold my breath.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:24 pmthe TRUTH takes a SECOND for every minute of a LIE…
hurry up and let’s get this over with…
March 7th, 2007 at 12:26 pm…
I think Scott “The Lyin’ King” McClellen should come clean about what HE knows. The rest of them will lie themselves into jail for Bush, something I don’t understand at all. I wouldn’t spit on him if he were on fire but these people are damn loyal…misplaced, but loyal nonetheless.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:27 pmOne more water boy jumping ship. I guess he needs a new job.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:28 pmScott may have an axe to grind because he was lied to before Libby lied to the grand jury. By him saying the Whitehouse should talk about this puts him at odds with what the official stance was, which is no comment.
This is getting really good.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:31 pmHere’s the White House, talking about it.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:33 pmUnfortunate,
Disappointing,
Just some jurors opinion,
Faithful servant,
Great American Hero,
Lie,
BS,
Spin,
More BS,
Huge piles of BS,
Get bulldozer to move out current BS to make way for new BS,
rinse, repeat.
Now Bush, Cheney, and Libby all have criminal record. I wonder how many Rape-Public-Cans can admit that Bush and Cheney were the first two selected officials who entered office with a criminal record? Then again thats a badge of honor among amoral despots.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:35 pmAfter watching the media elite polished, endless arrogance, poisonously caustic Tony “Fox” Snow, I am suddenly nostalogic for the amatuerish and shlumpy Scottie McLellan.
-GSD
March 7th, 2007 at 12:35 pmWho cares what this a**face says?
March 7th, 2007 at 12:36 pmThe Water just got heavier.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:37 pmBut the White House is talking about it.
It’s called Fox News.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:38 pmYou know with certainty that anyone with a name like Scooter is going to be everybody’s punk in prison. I look forward to the day he goes to jail!
March 7th, 2007 at 12:41 pmFrom Mr Conservative, Barry Goldwater;
And then there is this;
And finally;
I really don’t much care if people are religious or not (I am BTW) But people like Daryll, and many other Conservatives that pop in here with their moral majority Godless anti-liberal screed should stop and think.
We are all born of this Earth.
We are the melting pot of the world and that’s what made us a great nation. America is a land of immigrants Italian, French, Spanish, African, European, Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern etc. descendants from all over the globe.
Lets all have a Coca-Cola and a smile eh? 8^)
March 7th, 2007 at 12:41 pmScottie may have lied from time to time, but he didn’t like being sent out there to say something that was flat-out false by people who didn’t have the decency to tell him it was false. He’s not as good at saying “white is black” with a semi-straight face as Phoney McSnowjob is. Phoney will say anything and he’ll completely contradict it in the same sentence.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:43 pmthey don’t need to - they’ve got WaPo and Scottie (scooter jr.) and Fux Noose to do it for’em…..ain’t no good being the King if you can’t make little people wipe your butt for you, right Dubbie??
March 7th, 2007 at 12:46 pmHe looks like he eats alot of candy .
March 7th, 2007 at 12:48 pmScotty, I think you mean to say, “The Whitehouse needs to get out there and not spin this”
We all make errors in our judgements Scotty and can only try to correct them as we go thru life. I hope this is what your doing, if so, fantastic.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:50 pmBut the White House is talking about it.
It’s called Fox News.
Comment by Mimir — March 7, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
good one…
ol scotty was just talking in code… “…find some way to talk about this, 
March 7th, 2007 at 12:51 pmand they always do…
…
Tony Snow says that “Support the troops” was never really a mantra. Even though anyone who has listened to the administration only a week can see that is another huuuuuge lie. I have a new mantra to try out, tell me what you think everybody.
IMPEACH BUSH and CHENEY NOW!!
IMPEACH BUSH and CHENEY NOW!!
IMPEACH BUSH and CHENEY NOW!!
IMPEACH BUSH and CHENEY NOW!!
I don’t know, what do ya think? I kind of like how that sounds, especially by a few thousand in front of the White House.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:57 pmI completely agree. We certainly should do even more investigation. It is important to figure out if Fitzgerald was correct when he said that he won’t prosecute anyone else and considers the case closed. Just because Fitzgerald didn’t find evidence to prosecute anyone else doesn’t mean there is none. Sure, currently there isn’t solid evidence to prosecute or indict anyone, but maybe a new investigation could find some. The American people deserve to know if Fitzgerald is correct when he said no one else needs to be prosecuted IMO.
As far as Bush saying that anyone involved in lying would no longer no in the administration.
Is libby still part of the administration? Personally, Bush needs to wake up. How can he possibly think it is ok for Libby to be in jail and part of the administration? So Bush needs to get Libby out now and anyone else gets found guilty down the road, he certainly should stick to his word and remove them as well.
March 7th, 2007 at 12:58 pmThe only way around the issue, just don’t comment. Life is easy at the whitehouse. Don’t speak, don’t tell. pure cheney style.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:07 pmOh Jesus !! They lieeeed to meeee !! What a crappy excuse :-D
March 7th, 2007 at 1:12 pmGood cop- bad cops-
March 7th, 2007 at 1:14 pmAll this crap reminds me of the saying, “King Shit on Turd Island”.
listening to thom hartmann… he is really laying all this out and the backstory… basically, he says:
this leak is NOT about “getting even” with wilson (except to DISCREDIT him to make the white house story stick)…
this is about COVERING UP the crime in the white house that is an
IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE…
it is about the NIGER DOCUMENTS… about using a phony document and
other false information to justify a WAR… HIGH CRIMES…
CALL CONGRESS - TELL THEM TO INVESTIGATE
March 7th, 2007 at 1:16 pm866.220.0044
Poor Scott,no one listened to him even as Press Secretary,I doubt anybody is listening now.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:17 pma shill? commenting about criminals, saying they should talk about it?
March 7th, 2007 at 1:21 pmplease, this is only possible when organized crime is the republican party
time to evict.
So, Mr. McClellan’s approach now is that he lied before, or at least was naively duped into lying for others and sacrificed whatever credibility he may have had (”Everyone in this room knows me…”) in the process, but that now we should take him for his word and lend to his opinion unquestioned credibility.
Mr. McClellan, you shat in your own bed and now you can sleep in it. Anyone who lends an ounce of credibility (or sympathy) to this dishonest and despicable human being is both a fool and has no concept what “accountability” or “honor†means.
Good riddance Mr. McClellan. Your disservice to your country and humanity has been duly noted and will not be forgotten.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:22 pmthe White House will continue its “principled stand†of not commenting on the leak issue.
Principled stand?
Yeah…….. detestable, reprehensible, abhorrent, perfidious, low, base, vile, sordid, contemptible, low-down, squalid, ignoble, despicable, filthy, wretched, principles. That’s how I’d describe ‘em.
Well, looking on the bright side, at least they have principles.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:23 pmThe White House made a fool of McClellan. I used to laugh at his pressers. I couldn’t figure out if he really was that stupid, or if he was just playing a stupid guy on TV. In any case, he was a stooge for them, something he may be belatedly trying to atone for now. I think it’s too late.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:30 pmRoger @ #22 - Fitz didn’t say the case was closed. He said it was inactive. He left the door open for future investigations if new evidence came to light. I get the feeling fitz has got his traps set for someone, in case scooter’s family and friends pressure him to come clean and start protecting his family and himself.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:50 pm#32 My apoligies. Closed and inactive were used interchangably. Like I said before, I still think they should investigate this further to truly make sure they are correct that no one else should be prosecute. Seems wrong to just put the inactive label on the case and let it die. Oh well, at least they got the guy responsible for this all in jail.
March 7th, 2007 at 2:22 pm#33-R2,
Your disingenuousness and amateurish attempts at constructing a straw man would be an amusing freak show were the topic not so dire.
You applaud corruption and deceit. You promote hate and murder. You show an active distaste for the very foundation of this country, the Constitution of the United States of America.
This all may be just hunky dory in your neck of the woods, but so is having sex with sheep. So don’t think that every one should share your “values”. In fact, that would be very baaaaaaaad.
Good riddance.
March 7th, 2007 at 2:45 pmIsn’t “Gergen” the sound you make right before you wretch?
March 7th, 2007 at 2:56 pmTuber,
I just don’t get caught up in believing people’s opinions. I have clearly said over and over that if Bush/Cheney did in fact know the intel was faulty beforehand, they should be impeached and imprisoned. To date, you have nothing, nadda, NOTHING. I understand that this crowd hates all repugs and hates Bush/Cheney. Your hate and your assumptions don’t mean what you say is true. Please simply prove it and I’ll hate them too. I’ll agree and applaud their impeachment. Until then, I ain’t going down that nasty road. Why is it you expect people to simply believe your assumptions and conspiricy theories without asking for proof?
This crowd has been spewing this BS for years now. Maybe back off the unfounded BS for awhile and take that time to see if your infact correct. Even the leaders of the Dem party haven’t found a reason to impeach. Just because a group on a far left blog have assumptions and opinions that lead to impeachment of the president doesn’t actually equate to anything.
Hell, get your own party leaders to start impeachment proceedings if what you say can be backed with so much solid evidence.
I don’t applaud corruption or deceit. I also don’t assume this stuff based on nothing. Libby was found guilty and he should be in jail for longer then he probably will. After that, I don’t follow this crowd when you simply make assumptions about Cheney that are unfounded.
I rip on this crap because it is crap. The story is Libby lied. The story is also that the investigation found no real evidence they could prosecute anyone else with. The story isn’t assuming and picking random people and saying they did it to. You gotta prove it. You haven’t so it is crap.
You and the folks here can scream your opinion and assumptions over and over and as load as you want, but they are still 100% meaningless and they won’t become anymore true by repeating them Sorry.
March 7th, 2007 at 2:58 pmLet’s hold this administration to THEIR OWN WORDS: If anyone is involved in this, they will no longer be in this administration. Well, adios Bush Cabal - that includes Cheney, Rove and Bush, doesn’t it?
Guess they’re packing their bags or do they want to be called “liars” again???
It’s time to hold them to their word on this one or the people become complicit along with them. We become their enablers. We cannot afford to allow this to happen and we must call for their immediate removal, based on THEIR OWN PROMISE, to the people.
March 7th, 2007 at 3:05 pmTHE PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF THE SMOKE & MIRRORS AND THE IN-YOUR-FACE BLATANT LIES! THE TIME FOR IMPEACHMENT IS NOW! Cheney & Bush no longer deserve the respect of the american people and they, obviously, cannot do their job if they cannot uphold the law of the land.
Out, out, damn black spots on our democracy!
March 7th, 2007 at 3:07 pmPoor Scottie was their “fallguy” before Scooter - and now Tony Snow will be their next “fall guy” who will also be prosecuted for deceiving the american people.
March 7th, 2007 at 3:08 pmNow that this whole ugly mess is behind us, it is time for Bush to come out and set an agenda for the rest of 2007 and 2008. It’s time to start talking about extending the tax cuts to keep this economy going. It’s time to talk about private accounts for Social Security so that the people of this nation can count on a decent retirement. It’s time to talk about clean and safe nuclear energy to fight the demons of global climate change and CO2 emissions.
Yes you are correct, it is time for the White House to get out there and talk about the people’s business.
March 7th, 2007 at 3:23 pm#36-R2,
I can sum up your biggest issue/problem with your own words:
Please simply prove it and I’ll hate them too.
You need someone to hate, to despise, and to belittle in order to compensate for your insecurities or whatever. I do not hate Bush and his administration and the corrupt politicians and political operatives. I despise their crimes against humanity and their treacherous attempts to foment class structures and racial divisions.
When all you do is “hate” R2, then the natural inclination is to seek out someone or something to kill or destroy in order to feed that hate. Sound familiar? It should. It is the approach you have chosen and it is the clearest explanation for our current heinous and vile foreign policy and the reason you and your ilk are insatiable in your desire to kill off Iraqis, Iranians, Syrians, etc…
Stop hating yourself and you may just stop hating others. It is a disservice to your fellow human beings to preach hate. But, as you are discovering, your audience is dwindling rapidly.
Good riddance.
March 7th, 2007 at 3:43 pmLet’s be honest. This will be the biggest cover-up since Iran-Contra, and maybe since Watergate.
March 7th, 2007 at 3:55 pmRoger_Roger You don’t applaud corruption or deceit? You flip flop your arguments to make it seem like you’re not a troll. And you add or remove words from sentences to make them fit your argument.
March 7th, 2007 at 5:06 pmYou try to distract with long posts that make others think you have legitimate arguments when all you’re doing is spreading shit.
[…] Excerpts from the E&P article, available in full here, are below, followed by portions from CNN’s transcript. Video of McClellan’s appearance can be seen at this link. […]
March 8th, 2007 at 6:17 am#43 Again, why even make these pointless posts you do? At least attempt to answer my question if your going to respond. Do you honestly think your childish post will intimidate me or stop me from asking the real questions that should be asked in this case?
I love how folks like you get upset when someone wants to hear some facts and evidence to back such huge charges. Folks like you instantly go into attack mode yet always seem to fail at the facts and evidence part. You folks have attacked and dodged me for weeks on this question. Can’t you see I will still constently ask it? As long as these types of post come up and the far left continues to scream impeachment talk, I will ask if you or TP has actually found some new fact or some evidence to finally provide some meat to this story.
So, stop with the hate speech already. It makes me yawn. Provide some facts or evidence to back up your talk or simply acknowledge that it is loony emotional ranting that amount to nothing.
March 8th, 2007 at 9:38 amI actually feel kinda’ bad for Scott McClellon. I, personally, don’t think they told this cat anything. Reporters would ask him something and it looked like this was the first time he’d ever heard it. This guy had the worst poker face, I mean, he couldn’t wing-it for shit. In the Bush administration he was Bud Cort from “Life Aquatic w/ Steve Zissou. He was their bond company stooge!!
March 8th, 2007 at 9:41 amWhy is the word hate used so often? I use the word respect
March 8th, 2007 at 1:08 pmAh Yes, “Nasty Pipsqueak” Scotty-boy McClellan–SEEN FREQUENTING GAY BARS IN Austin AND LOOKING FOR MALE HUSTLERS TO SATISFY HIS TWISTED DESIRES–ABOUT TIME THIS TWERP STARTS TO BITE THE HAND THAT USED TO HAVE HIM ON A SHORT LEASH–Scotty-boy DOESN’T HAVE THE SO-CALLED “charisma” of Tony “Colostomy-bag” Snow-JOB-man BUT HE WAS LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH JUST LIKE Snow, EXCEPT HE HAD NONE OF Tony’s GHOULISHLY SAPPY GRINS AND RIDICULOUS BANTER, INSTEAD JUST GRIMLY GRITTING HIS TEETH BUT LYING JUST THE SAME AS Snow–DON’T GIVE ME THE “I didn’t know anything”, Scotty-boy–STOP YER LYING!!!!!
March 8th, 2007 at 2:33 pmScott McClellan is just trying to suck-up to Nancy ‘The Face’ Pelosi…
absurd thought -
March 10th, 2007 at 8:19 amGod of the Universe says
avoid tough questions
.
[…] reason a cloud exists over the White House is precisely because it has failed to confront questions about the involvement of Bush, Cheney, Rove, and other key figures. As Juan Williams noted, if Bush […]
March 11th, 2007 at 11:34 am