Ask Me Help Desk - Scott McClellan comes clean

Even a casual observer of politics would have to say that the Bush administration seems a bit cavalier in matters of life and death and the truth.

Now that press secretary Scott McClellan has come clean that Bush and Cheney lied about Plame-Gate, and the spiteful outting of a CIA agent because her husband (Ambassador wilson) dared to say that the Yellow Cake charge against Saddam was unsubstantiated... do you think Congress will pursue it or not? And will Bush and Cheney hide behind executive doors (see also energy legistation and other newly classified docs) or address this issue?

Of course this news is inaccurate and dated by about a week. His publisher Peter Osnos has since the release of the snippet from McClellan's book has said that McClellan "Did not intend to suggest Bush lied to him." I know that Chris Matthews was frothing at the mouth in anticipation of this being a smoking gun . But this teaser was released without any content and he knows it. Matthews' interpretation of the excerpt has McClellan alleging that Bush sent McClellan out to lie to the press .Matthews even suggests that McClellan knew what he was saying was a lie.None of this is a reasonable interpretation of the quote.

Quote:

McClellan doesn't suggest that Bush deliberately lied to him about Libby's and Rove's involvement in the leak, said Peter Osnos, founder and editor-in-chief of Public Affairs Books, which is publishing McClellan's memoir next year.

"He told him something that wasn't true, but the president didn't know it wasn't true," Osnos said in a telephone interview. "The president told him what he thought to be the case."

Bloomberg.com: Politics

Publisher: McClellan doesn't believe Bush lied - The White House - MSNBC.com

In fact as I read the quote ,it has nothing to do with the Plame case.

Quote:

The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

There was one problem. It was not true.

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the President himself.

So where is Plame's name in the quote ? The quote is about the failure to find WMD in Iraq.

I don't know what else needs to be revealed about the Plame case. . Sec.State Richard Armitage ;a man who was opposed to the US policy towards Iraq, inadvertently disclosed Valeri Plame's name to Bob Novak. Prosecutor Patrick Fitgerald knew this before he began his investigation but went ahead like Inspector Javert with a witch hunt and he eventually tricked a high level adm. Official ;Scooter Libby, to pergure himself.

Here is a clip from Larry King on 3/6/07 ,after the Libby conviction.

Quote:

KING: While the CIA leak was going on, Scott McClellan fielded lots of questions. Here's one at a briefing in October 2003. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Earlier this week you told us that neither Karl Rove, Elliott Abrams nor Lewis Libby disclosed any classified information with regard to the leak. I wonder if you can tell us more specifically whether any of them told any reporter that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA?

MCCLELLAN: Those individuals -- 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Scott, were you lied to?

MCCLELLAN: Well, Larry, I said what I believed to be true at the time. It was also what the president believed to be true at the time based on assurances that we were both given. Knowing what I know today, I would have never said that back then. As you heard me say in that clip, I said that those individuals assured me they were not involved in this. I did speak directly with them and I was careful about the way I phrased it at the time, even though I believed what they had told me to be the truth.

CNN.com - Transcripts

As you see, McClellan did not believe then that the President deceived him.

Quote:

do you think Congress will pursue it or not?

I have no doubt that Conyers and Waxman are already working on having more endless hearings . That is what they do in lieu of anything meaningful .

Here is a hint. Nobody was going to read McClellan's book .He was a weak-kneed jelly fish as press secretary who was a horrible advocate for the President. He was one of the typical Bush patronage appointments from Texas .Most of them except perhaps Rove have been ineffective and over their head in the positions they have held in the White House . So how to spark an interest in the book ? Release a blurb with no content and hope the rabid Olberman's of the MSM sell the book for you . It probably worked ,except that no one cares . The Natalie Holloway case has supplanted this non-story already.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

In fact as I read the quote ,it has nothing to do with the Plame case.

Gee, I am not even sure how to have a discussion here if you do not think that quote had anything to do with the Plame case. Are you being serious or facetious?

The quote again seems fairly self-evident, but let's peek again:

... "The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq...."

Yes, he was talking about the WMD's with the press as always - as he had to many times and I would guess any press secretary would have to deal with these days as people still recoil from the truths being revealed.

Ok, moving on... as did the press conference;

"So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

"There was one problem. It was not true.

"I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the president himself."

I am not sure how one might interpret that as having nothing to do with the Plame case?

He was dealing with the main fall guy from the case. Scooter Libby. Yes?

As for your other Larry King reference - that was from March '07.
By your own definition...isn't that rather dated?

In any case, I never thought Scooter deserved all the heat. No one with even a marginal examination of this case did so....In fact, I think Scooter's novel: "The Apprentice" (that includes scenes on bestiality and... rape) seemed more worthy of a sole public flogging than did Scooter. There were clearly people above him involved... He was just easier to take the fall as the bottom guy on the ladder and then pardon... And Scott McClellan was used as fall guy as well. It was good to finally see him put his conscience down on paper - better late than never.

Hello Ash:

I agree it's going to be difficult discussing facts here because the facts get spun.

I suppose of you dig and you take stuff out of context, and most importantly of all, you blindly support the dufus in chief, you can find spin material. I suppose you can even live in your world where George Bush is the best president we've ever had.

However, I'm not a digger. I'm just an observer. This is what I saw: Bush saying that he would fire anybody involved in the leak. Then changing it to say that he would fire anybody involved in the leak "if they committed a crime". Then I didn't see a White House investigation. Then I saw Bush commute the Scooter dude after he was convicted of committing a crime.

Clearly, Bush is a liar. What other conclusion can you draw from that? But, they'll think of something.

excon

PS> (edited) Do I think the do nothing congress will do anything?? No. They're pussies.

Yes, Bush says what is politically expedient - yet what politician does not :-)

Still, to put lives at stake over and over and bury them in half-truths is very disconcerting. An educated electorate - GOP included - has to be concerned about such dubious leadership.

And yes, not wise to blindly follow any leader - that's a bit like WWII Germany - but alas -
Pride always goeth before the fall. I wish nothing but success for the U.S. but the public needs to hold its leadership accountable and this white house's free pass appears to have been recalled.

You don't want to get tom Hannity on your A$$. Nothing will make sense.