Ex-Aide Blames Bush For CIA Leak Uproar

Scott McClellan Tells House Committee President Failed On Promise To Talk Publicly About Case

(CBS/ AP)  Former presidential spokesman Scott McClellan on Friday laid the blame for much of the U.S. public's mistrust of the White House firmly at President George W. Bush's feet, saying he backtracked on a promise to open up about the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

"This White House promised or assured the American people that at some point when this was behind us they would talk publicly about it. And they have refused to," McClellan told the House Judiciary Committee. "And that's why I think more than any other reason we are here today and the suspicion still remains."

He suggested that Mr. Bush could do much to redeem his credibility on the Plame matter and his reasons for going to war in Iraq if he would embrace "openness and candor and then constantly strive to build trust across the aisle."

There was no indication that the Bush administration was going to take McClellan's advice. In fact, the White House was dismissive of the event and McClellan himself.

"I think Scott has probably told everyone everything he doesn't know, so I don't know if anyone should expect him to say anything new today," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

In his recently-released book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," McClellan said he was instructed to lie about the role of senior White House officials in the leak of Plame's name.

Mr. Bush's spokesman from 2003-2006, McClellan said that former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card told him that the president and vice president wanted him to publicly say that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff at the time, was not involved in the leak.

"I was reluctant to do it," McClellan said. "I got on the phone with Scooter Libby and asked him point-blank, 'Were you involved in this in any way?' And he assured me in unequivocal terms that he was not."

In fact, both Libby and former presidential adviser Karl Rove had discussed Plame's identity with reporters. Libby resigned from office the day he was indicted on charges of covering up the leak. Rove remained, eventually leaving office in August 2007. Rove has never been charged in the case.

Plame maintains the White House quietly outed her to reporters as retribution for criticism from her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, of Bush's reasons for going to war in Iraq.

Last July, Mr. Bush commuted Libby's 2½-year sentence, sparing him from serving any prison time. "It was special treatment," McClellan said of the commutation.

McClellan told the House Judiciary Committee that he doesn't know if a crime was committed and does not believe that Mr. Bush knew about or directed the leak. When asked about Cheney, he replied: "I do not know. There's a lot of suspicion there."

Lingering public mistrust of the administration in the sunset of the president's second term is a direct cause of Mr. Bush's justification for the war, later deemed in error and several broken presidential promises, McClellan told the panel.

First, he said, the White House "packaged" prewar intelligence to justify going to war.

"It's public record that they were ignoring caveats and ignoring contradictory intelligence," McClellan said.

Mr. Bush also backtracked or outright broke his promise of accountability in the Plame matter, McClellan said.

The White House had said in 2003 that anyone who leaked classified information in the case would be dismissed. Mr. Bush reiterated that promise in June 2004.

By July 2005, Mr. Bush qualified his position, saying he would fire anyone for leaking classified information if that person had "committed a crime." He then commuted Libby's sentence.

McClellan said the White House was helping the Justice Department investigate the leak, but he knew of no internal White House probe to ferret out and fire the leaker.

"I certainly think that the president should have stuck by his word on the matter, and I certainly view the commutation as it was special treatment," McClellan said. "It does undermine our system of justice."

Republicans cast his testimony as old news. Ranking Republican Lamar Smith questioned the impartiality of McClellan's publisher and said that whatever the witness was instructed to say about the Plame affair was typical work of the White House press office.

"It should be of no surprise that there was spin in the White House Press Office," said Smith. "What White House has not had a communications operation that advocates for its policies? Any recent administration that did not try to promote its priorities should be cited for dereliction of duty."

Rather than discuss the substance of the book, former and current Bush aides "sought to turn it into a game of 'gotcha,' misrepresenting what I wrote and seeking to discredit me though inaccurate personal attacks," McClellan said.

Stunned White House aides fired back at McClellan in May, and Bush press secretary Dana Perino issued a statement that was highly critical of their former colleague.

"Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House," she said last month. "For those of us who fully supported him, before, during and after he was press secretary, we are puzzled. It is sad - this is not the Scott we knew."

"Scott himself repeatedly made the case for the war from the podium and even after he left the White House, I remember watching him on Bill Maher’s show - about one year ago - making the case for the war," former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer wrote in a statement. "If Scott had such deep misgivings, he should not have accepted the press secretary position as a matter of principle."

Said former top aide Karl Rove, in an interview with Fox News Channel: "If he had these moral qualms, he should have spoken up about them. And frankly I don't remember him speaking up about these things. I don't remember a single word."

McClellan's book draws a portrait of his former boss as smart, charming and politically skilled, but unwilling to admit mistakes and susceptible to his own spin. Mr. Bush "convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment," McClellan wrote.

He also faults Mr. Bush for a "lack of inquisitiveness."

"President Bush has always been an instinctive leader more than an intellectual leader," McClellan writes. "He is not one to delve deeply into all the possible policy options-including sitting around engaging in extended debate about them-before making a choice. Rather, he chooses based on his gut and his most deeply held convictions. Such was the case with Iraq."

[deacon20081]

TruUSA

The problem with your idea to write in Hillary is that it will siphon off votes and weaken the democratic party fight against the McSame Republicans.
Democrats had better pull together as a party and defeat the Neocons in power.
Two individuals in Texas screwed up the votes in Texas against Republican Rick Perry by running as "independants" and taking votes away from Chris Bell the democrat.....who would have won.
Perry is a NAFTA Superhighway Supporter and Bush Clone.

[closethippy1]

Basically McClellan is upset at how a CIA agent was exposed by its own government and that''s why he decided to break ranks with Bush and ilk.
And why not? What happened with Plume is plain and simple treason. Conspiracy to prevent an American doing her job to protect the country.
Doesn''t the police call this "obstruction of justice"?
I once had a police car parked behind me at a parking lot and when I asked him to please move his car so I can leave he wanted to charge me with "obstruction of justice" until his partner talk some sense into him.
It''s about time we let the law loose on the power elite who are actually abusing their position instead of going after people like me.
We need to get the law working for us once again in this country.

[toolmangler-2009]

CBS I got a question. Why not headline this drivel for what it truly is?
BAD WRITER EMBELLISHES TALL TALE FOR BETTER ROYALTIES!
Posted by JEGibbons at 07:26 PM : Jun 22, 2008



Lars008!!!!! is that you again with a new name (again).

[jegibbons]

CBS I got a question. Why not headline this drivel for what it truly is?

BAD WRITER EMBELLISHES TALL TALE FOR BETTER ROYALTIES!

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by terrorislami(Lars008) at 02:48 PM : Jun 22, 2008



(SIGH) here we go again folks, cut n'' paste Lars008 is at it again.

[terrorislami]

THE REAL HUSSEIN, HIS REAL HATE OF WHITEY, HIS REAL RACISM

FROM HIS OWN MOUTH

Wright / Obama: "White Folk''s Greed Runs A World In Need"

MALCOLM-O-BAMA LAUDS MALCOLM-X

HUSSEIN THE MARXISTS

HUSSEIN THE RACIST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfC4OOm1aoM
There''s only two kinds of white folks, there''s only two kinds, bad white folks and worse white folks. That''s the only two kinds of white folks there are. Malcolm X, used to say, from the teachings of the nation of terrorislam founder Elijah Muhammad, that all white folks are bad. He said if you find one good, kill him first before he turns bad. Because he''s only faking.
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?sid=169

SHOCKING Obama words: what he really thinks of white folks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI77cU3jsFs&feature=related

The shocking video Barack Obama does not want you to see!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prhnc2fxAzg&feature=related

[terrorislami]

HUSSEIN AND THE NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY

The racist NBPP is led by notorious extremist, Malik Zulu Shabazz, and is a registered team member and blogger on Obama%u2019s campaign website.

Barack Obama and The New Black Panther Party
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DQAOZlNrO8

Snarling at the White Man
Leaders of the New Black Panther Party, unlike those of its namesake of the 1960s and 1970s, speak of ''white devils'' and ''bloodsucking Jews''

Khalid Muhammad.
Muhammad, who first appeared publicly as the new Panthers'' leader at the Jasper demonstration in 1998, had long been known as the leading spokesman for the black separatist Nation of Islam. He lost that post after Nation leader Louis Farrakhan was widely criticized for Muhammad''s violently hateful speeches.

He has blamed slavery and even the Holocaust on the "hooked-nose, bagel-eating, lox-eating, perpetrating-a-fraud, so-called Jew."

He has launched repeated diatribes against his enemies: "white devil crackers," "bloodsucking Jews" and "*******."

Muhammad had clear ideas for dealing with whites who did not leave immediately: "We kill the women. We kill the babies. We kill the blind. We kill the cripples. We kill them all. We kill the *******. We kill the lesbians. ,,, When you get through killing them all, go to the ******* graveyard and dig up the grave and kill them a-*******-gain, because they didn''t die hard enough" the first time.
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=394

[toolmangler-2009]

fascist nazi terrorislam has 1400 years of slavery and counting,
even as we speak fascist nazi terrorislam is kidnapping africans and forcing them into slavery,

Posted by terrorislami at 08:24 PM : Jun 21, 2008



You would think that by now they would have learned not to trust Slavers, But it seems that is not the case. I guess you will never run out of victims will you.

[terrorislami]

Posted by ToolMangler at 08:19 PM : Jun 21, 2008

fascist nazi terrorislam has 1400 years of slavery and counting,,,

even as we speak fascist nazi terrorislam is kidnapping africans and forcing them into slavery,,,

[toolmangler-2009]

a known shill for inbred retarded radical fascist nazi terrorislamic jihadists muslim slavers, murderers and rapists

Posted by terrorislami at 08:14 PM : Jun 21, 2008



I am glad you agree with me, thats just what I said.

[toolmangler-2009]

ask the black racist to justify their racism,,,
Posted by terrorislami at 08:15 PM : Jun 21, 2008



Don''t have to. We (whites) taught it to them.

[toolmangler-2009]

"I think Scott has probably told everyone everything he doesn''t know, so I don''t know if anyone should expect him to say anything new today," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.



Now if you want to dig dirt, get on to Bushy_babys case and watch his spin doctors go to work.

[terrorislami]

Posted by ToolMangler at 08:14 PM : Jun 21, 2008

ask the black racist to justify their racism,,,

[terrorislami]

Posted by ToolMangler at 08:02 PM : Jun 21, 2008

a known shill for inbred retarded radical fascist nazi terrorislamic jihadists muslim slavers, murderers and rapists

[toolmangler-2009]

Wright / Obama: "White Folk''''s Greed Runs A World In Need"
Posted by terrorislami at 02:51 PM : Jun 21, 2008


Quite obviously "white greed" must be different than "Black greed", "Red greed" or just "Plain greed" but for the life of me, I don''t see how.

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by terrorislami at 02:51 PM : Jun 21, 2008



I went to every one of your links and found them to be Cr@p, inuendo, half truths and some outright lies. If your one man army approach to anything Obama does or says shows me anything, it is that you are a paid shill, you did the same thing to Bushy_baby and it will be interesting to find out whos payroll you are really on.

[scoleridge-2009]

Conservative Republicans have put the good of their party ahead of our country. They all should be tried for treason.

[terrorislami]

THE REAL HUSSEIN, HIS REAL HATE OF WHITEY, HIS REAL RACISM

FROM HIS OWN MOUTH

Wright / Obama: "White Folk''s Greed Runs A World In Need"
MALCOLM-O-BAMA LAUDS MALCOLM-X
HUSSEIN THE MARXISTS
HUSSEIN THE RACIST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfC4OOm1aoM

SHOCKING Obama words: what he really thinks of white folks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI77cU3jsFs&feature=related

The shocking video Barack Obama does not want you to see!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prhnc2fxAzg&feature=related

[deacon20081]

Today we hear Bush is claiming Executive Priviledge concerning the release of EPA documents.
That must be where Cheney and his Secret Group made up their "enegy policy".

[terrorislami]

HUSSEIN IS SOME UNITER,,, lol

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=DEMOCRATS+AGAINST OBAMA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=JEWS AGAINST OBAMA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=LATINOS AGAINST OBAMA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ASIANS AGAINST OBAMA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=NATIVE AMERICANS AGAINST OBAMA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=WOMEN AGAINST OBAMA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=GRANNIES AGAINST OBAMA

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=TYPICAL WHITE PERSON AGAINST OBAMA

hahaha

what a stinking LIAR,,,