Following up on an earlier item, TPM and The Politico reported on an intriguing [tag]18-day[/tag] [tag]gap[/tag] in the latest [tag]purge[/tag]-related [tag]document dump[/tag]. According to the available materials, the Justice Department originally planned to start the [tag]U.S. Attorney[/tag] firings in mid-November, but ended up making the calls on December 7. In between, when one assumes there’d be a flurry of substantive and strategic emails and memos, there were no documents at all … at least according to the latest document production from the DoJ.
The [tag]White House[/tag] press corps has apparently noticed the gap and brought it up during today’s briefing. You’ll have to watch the video clip to fully appreciate how uncomfortable [tag]Tony Snow[/tag] was in responding to these questions, but even his rhetorical responses were rather startling.
During today’s press briefing, CNN’s Ed Henry noted that one of the last emails before the gap is from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ ex-chief of staff Kyle Sampson to then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers, asking, “Who will determine whether this requires the president’s attention?”
White House spokesman Tony Snow refused to explain the gap, telling reporters, “I’ve been led to believe that there’s a good response for it.” He said President Bush “has no recollection of this ever being raised with him.”
“I’ve been led to believe that there’s a good response for it.” That’s one of my new favorite Snow quotes. It’s a clever way of telling reporters, “That’s a good question, there’s a good answer, but I don’t know what it is.”
Just as importantly, Snow, perhaps inadvertently, undermined the White House’s [tag]executive privilege[/tag] claim.
CNN’s Ed Henry confronted snow. “Now, here’s one email from November 15 that says, from Mr. Simpson to Harriet Miers, ‘Who will determine whether this requires the president’s attention?’ And then there is a gap in emails. Was there any, you think, perhaps any email about the president in there? And did the president have to sign off on this, because the question was raised…”
Snow interrupted. “The president has no recollection of this ever being raised with him.”
Now, there are a couple of reasons why this is important. First, “no recollection” is pretty weak. Snow isn’t usually afraid of making categorical statements, even when they’re false. Given this, Snow seems to be hedging, intentionally, on the extent to which the president was directly involved in the purge. Let’s not forget, when Snow was asked on Friday if Bush himself might have suggested the firings, Snow said, “Anything’s possible…. But I don’t think so.”
As Dan Froomkin said today, “Among the many lessons of the Scooter Libby trial is this one: That when the White House issues squirrelly statements under fire, the most cynical interpretations may well be the closest to the truth.” Something to keep in mind.
Second, if Snow’s fairly ambiguous suggestion is right, and the firings weren’t raised with the president directly, then what’s the basis for the executive privilege claim?
[I]f no conversations occurred with the president, and no advice was given, then how can the White House assert executive privilege, claiming the need to shield presidential advice?
Tony Snow’s response: “That’s an intriguing question.”
Darn straight it’s an intriguing question! What the heck are they protecting if there exists no presidential advice on the issue?
If you’re getting the sense that the Bush gang’s defense is quickly unraveling, then we’re on the same page.