Comments at media briefings when asked by reporters about whether Rove was involved in the leak of a CIA officer's identity.
Sept. 29, 2003 Q: You said this morning, quote, "The president knows that Karl Rove wasn't involved." How does he know that? McClellan: Well, I've made it very clear that it was a ridiculous suggestion in the first place. .. I've said that it's not true. .. And I have spoken with Karl Rove. Q: When you talked to Mr. Rove, did you discuss, "Did you ever have this information?" McClellan: I've made it very clear, he was not involved, that there's no truth to the suggestion that he was. Oct. 7, 2003 Q: You have said that you personally went to Scooter Libby (Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff), Karl Rove and Elliott Abrams (National Security Council official) to ask them if they were the leakers. Is that what happened? Why did you do that? And can you describe the conversations you had with them? What was the question you asked? McClellan: Unfortunately, in Washington, D.C., at a time like this there are a lot of rumors and innuendo. There are unsubstantiated accusations that are made. And that's exactly what happened in the case of these three individuals. They are good individuals. They are important members of our White House team. And that's why I spoke with them, so that I could come back to you and say that they were not involved. I had no doubt with that in the beginning, but I like to check my information to make sure it's accurate before I report back to you, and that's exactly what I did. Oct. 10, 2003 Q: Earlier this week you told us that neither Karl Rove, Elliot Abrams nor Lewis Libby disclosed any classified information with regard to the leak. I wondered if you could tell us more specifically whether any of them told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA? McClellan: I spoke with those individuals, as I pointed out, and those individuals assured me they were not involved in this. And that's where it stands. Q: So none of them told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA? McClellan: They assured me that they were not involved in this. Q: They were not involved in what? McClellan: The leaking of classified information. July 11, 2005 Q: Do you want to retract your statement that Rove, Karl Rove, was not involved in the Valerie Plame expose? McClellan: I appreciate the question. This is an ongoing investigation at this point. The president directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation, and as part of cooperating fully with the investigation, that means we're not going to be commenting on it while it is ongoing. * * * Comments at media briefings in the days after Hurricane Katrina Sept. 1, 2005 Q: People on the ground, though, Scott, are questioning why it's taken three days or more for federal help to arrive, notwithstanding all of the preparations. There's considerable bitterness in some places. We had one woman ask on camera last night, where's the cavalry? And then there's been editorial criticism across the country of the President for not acting sooner, or not coming back sooner. What do you say to all that? McClellan: I can understand how frustrated people are in the region who have been affected by this. There are some immediate priorities that we must remain focused on. First and foremost, that is saving lives. And second, right along with that, is sustaining lives. That's why the federal government is working in close partnership with state and local authorities. This is a massive undertaking by the federal government. It is unprecedented. We continue -- remember, we pre-positioned assets in the region prior to the storm hitting. You have more than 50 disaster medical assistance teams in the region. You have some 28-plus search and rescue teams deployed in the region. [I]f you look at what the Department of Transportation, for instance, has done, they have moved I think approximately 1,000 truckloads containing more than -- nearly 7 million Meals Ready to Eat to the region. They have moved millions of gallons of water, 15,000-plus tarps, 10,000-plus rolls of plastic sheeting, 3.4 million pounds of ice that they have helped to transport to those who are in need of those supplies. Sept. 6, 2005 Q: Scott, the reality at hand right now is that the president said that we still live in an unsettled world. This is an administration that has told us since 9/11 that it's not a matter of "if," but "when" that we could be struck by a terror attack and, obviously, other disasters that are the result of Mother Nature. So at this point, where is the accountability? Is the president prepared to say where this White House, where this administration, went wrong in its response to Katrina? McClellan: You know, David, there are some that are interested in playing the blame game. The president is interested in solving problems and getting help to the people who need it. There will be a time -- Q: Wait a minute. Is it a blame game when the president, himself, says that we remain at risk for either another catastrophe of this dimension, that's not manmade, or a terrorist attack? Isn't it incumbent upon this administration to immediately have accountability to find out what went wrong, when at any time this could happen again? McClellan: This is a massive federal response effort that we have under way. We've got to stay focused on helping those who are in need right now and help them rebuild their lives and get back up on their feet. It's a time of many challenges, enormous challenges. We've got to stay focused on the task at hand. That is what the president is doing. Now, in terms of addressing threats, we've made a lot of progress since the attacks of Sept 11. And one of the most important things we're doing is staying on the offensive abroad. There are important priorities that we have to continue to address and we are working to address those priorities, too. But we have a major disaster that has occurred over a 90,000 square mile [sic] here in the United States. There are people -- Q: Right. And there are people who want to know why this government couldn't respond -- McClellan: Hang on. There are people who are suffering, and we've got to respond to their needs, and that's what we're going to keep our focus. Q: So no one is prepared to say what went wrong? McClellan: We will look back at the facts and we will get to the bottom of the facts and determine what went wrong and what went right. But right now -- Q: Will the president support an outside investigation, or does he want to do it himself? McClellan: -- but, David, right now, we've got to continue helping the people in the region. Sept. 7, 2005 Q: Scott, in the conversations that the president had with Gov. Blanco, was there any moment where Gov. Blanco had asked, prior to the storm hitting, that they begin to dispatch either National Guard troops or federal troops in New Orleans? McClellan: If you go back to that time period, we were in close contact with governors and local officials. And if you recall, that the request for -- and the disaster declaration is issued by the president, but it comes at the request of the state. And that's why we were consulting closely, and I think we mentioned this at the time, with the governors. And Gov. Blanco got a request into us ahead of time so that we could issue that disaster declaration. Now, in terms of the National Guard troops, I think that General Blum and the military have talked about how things were pre-positioned in the region, and I would leave it to them to describe the deployment of military troops and the requests that were made. I think they've been briefing on that the last couple of days and -- Q: My question, though, I think was, did Gov. Blanco ask the president for the dispatch -- McClellan: I'm not aware of that, David, and I don't want to try to get into going back through every single detail of this. I mean, we're going to look at all this. Right now we're trying to stay focused on what's ahead, not what's passed, because we need -- Comments to the press about his tenure in the job March 15, 2006 Q: Scott, at the risk of making you even more tired, I'm wondering -- McClellan: I'm not tired, Jim. You might be -- Q: Well, after this question you may be. The calls from the current senators, and even former senators, from what we understand, to change the staffing, expand it, if not swap out, is there anything to it? Are any staff changes at the White House imminent? McClellan: Jim, let me speak very clearly to this. This is part of the inside Washington babble that goes on in this town. It's part of the parlor game. We are focused on the priorities that the American people care most about and getting things done. We are focused on helping the President advance his agenda, to make America safer and more prosperous. There are a lot of important priorities we're working to advance, and we're working to advance, and we're working to build upon a record of great accomplishment. And that's where our focus is. April 17, 2006 Q: Scott, you're one of those visible members of the President's senior staff. Do you plan to stay on? McClellan: Are you trying to tempt me here? Q: Not at all. McClellan: Look, I never speculate about personnel matters. Q: "Personnel" or "personal" or both? McClellan: Two years in this position is a long time, I'm very mindful of that. But, look, I never get into any of that speculation. Source: the White House, Associated Press, the New Republic ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:204881 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
