TBT: The Brutal Truth

Clueless McClellan Gets A Clue -- WH Press Corp Responds, "TOO LATE, SHITHEAD!!"

Q: You said this morning, quote, "The president knows that Karl Rove wasn't involved." How does he know that?

A: 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: It doesn't take much for the president to ask a senior official working for him, to just lay the question out for a few people and end this controversy today.

A: Do you have specific information to bring to our attention? ... Are we supposed to chase down every anonymous report in the newspaper? We'd spend all our time doing that."

Q: When you talked to Mr. Rove, did you discuss, "Did you ever have this information?"

A: I've made it very clear, he was not involved, that there's no truth to the suggestion that he was.

Q: Scott, can I ask you this: Did Karl Rove commit a crime?

MCCLELLAN: Again, David, this is a question relating to a ongoing investigation, and you have my response related to the investigation. And I don't think you should read anything into it other than: We're going to continue not to comment on it while it's ongoing.

Q: Do you stand by your statement from the fall of 2003, when you were asked specifically about Karl and Elliot Abrams and Scooter Libby, and you said, "I've gone to each of those gentlemen, and they have told me they are not involved in this"?

MCCLELLAN: And if you will recall, I said that, as part of helping the investigators move forward on the investigation, we're not going to get into commenting on it. That was something I stated back near that time as well.

Q: Scott, this is ridiculous. The notion that you're going to stand before us, after having commented with that level of detail, and tell people watching this that somehow you've decided not to talk. You've got a public record out there. Do you stand by your remarks from that podium or not?

MCCLELLAN: I'm well aware, like you, of what was previously said. And I will be glad to talk about it at the appropriate time. The appropriate time is when the investigation...

McCLELLAN: I think you're trying to get at the specific news reports and wanting me to comment on those specific news reports and --

"Q: But they're news reports that have been confirmed by Karl Rove's attorney, Scott.

"McCLELLAN: John, you can keep jumping in, but I'm going to try to keep going to other people in this room, as well. And we can have constructive dialogue here, I think, but that's not the way to do it.

"Q: It's not my job to have a constructive dialogue, Scott. Sorry."

QUESTION: But, Scott, there’s a difference between what’s legal and what’s right. Is what Karl Rove did right?

MCCLELLAN: Well, I mean, you can state the obvious. I understand and appreciate that. And I appreciate you all — I know you all want to get to the bottom of this. I want to get to the bottom of it. The president has said no one wants to get to the bottom of it more than he does. We want to see it come to a successful conclusion.

The best way to help the investigation come to a successful conclusion is for me not to get into discussing it from this podium. I don’t think that helps…

QUESTION: Wait…

MCCLELLAN: I don’t think that helps advance the investigation.

QUESTION: You say you won’t discuss it, but the Republican National Committee and others working obviously on behalf of the White House, they put out this Wilson-Rove research and talking points, distributed to Republican surrogates, which include things like: Karl Rove discouraged a reporter from writing a false story.

QUESTION: And then other Republican surrogates are getting information such as: Cooper, the Time reporter, called Rove on the pretense of discussing welfare reform. Bill Kristol on Fox News, a friendly news channel to you, said that the conversation lasted for two minutes and it was just at the end that Rove discussed this.

So someone is providing this information. Are you, behind the scenes, directing a response to this story?

MCCLELLAN: You can talk to the RNC about what they put out. I’ll let them speak to that. What I know is that the president directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation. And as part of cooperating fully with that investigation, that means supporting the efforts by the investigators to come to a successful conclusion.

And that means not commenting on it from this podium.

QUESTION: Well…

MCCLELLAN: And, no, I understand your question.

QUESTION: … Fox News and other Republican surrogates are essentially saying that the conversation lasted for two minutes and that the subject was ostensibly welfare reform. They’re getting that information from here, from Karl Rove.

MCCLELLAN: And, again, you’re asking questions that are related to news reports about an ongoing, continuing investigation. And you’ve had my response on that…

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: At the very least, though, Scott, could you say whether or not you stand by your statement of September 29th, 2003, that it’s simply not true that Karl Rove disclosed the identity of a CIA operative?

Can you stand by that statement?

MCCLELLAN: I look forward to talking about this at some point, but it’s not the appropriate time to talk about those questions while the investigation is continuing.

QUESTION: Can we take that as a yes or a no?

QUESTION: This was a statement you made on the record 21 months ago. You very confidently asserted to us and to the American people that Rove told you he had nothing to do with it. Can you stand by that statement now?

MCCLELLAN: Yes, and I responded to these questions yesterday.

posted by Sizemore at 6:50 PM