White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan was first asked about meetings between Jack Abramoff and White House staff on January 4. On January 5, McClellan said he would have a “thorough report” on staff level contacts “very soon.”
Fourteen days later, the stonewalling continues:
QUESTION: Scott, just quickly, back to Abramoff, can you give any more specificity on those meetings? When they were, years, times?
MCCLELLAN: No. This is sticking with our past policy. We’re not going to engage in a fishing expedition.
QUESTION: Not even years?
MCCLELLAN: Well, the Hanukkah receptions were back in 2001 and 2002.
QUESTION: OK. You talked about the Hanukkah receptions. Can you talk about the staff-level meetings and what years those were or months?
MCCLELLAN: No. I did a chat for you all to provide you that information, but we’re not going to engage in a fishing expedition. I know that there’s some that want to do that. But I don’t see any reason to do so.
QUESTION: Can you tell me why you wouldn’t want it out there?
MCCLELLAN: Well, this has been keeping with past practice in terms of in similar incidents.
What is the White House trying to hide?