The rumors were rampant earlier this week that new White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten was going to make some staff changes, starting in Scott [tag]McClellan[/tag]’s office. Nothing’s happened yet, but after the grilling he received at today’s briefing, McClellan probably wishes he’d been fired days ago.
President [tag]Bush[/tag]’s chief spokesman said today the president has the right to declassify sensitive information whenever he chooses and that when he does, it is effective immediately.
In an often testy exchange with the White House media, spokesman Scott McClellan refused to explain the administration’s role in the 2003 disclosure — described in a federal prosecutor’s legal document — of highly sensitive intelligence information about [tag]Iraq[/tag]. The spokesman said it has long been the administration’s policy not to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
McClellan’s heated exchange with the press came a day after Special Counsel Patrick J. [tag]Fitzgerald[/tag] said in a court filing that White House official I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby had told a grand jury that President Bush, acting through Vice President Cheney, directed him to [tag]leak[/tag] information from a classified October 2002 intelligence report to the news media.
“[tag]Heated[/tag]” sounds about right. Here’s the just-published transcript. The first question summed up the better part of the [tag]briefing[/tag].
Q: Back when the NIE was released on July 18, 2003, you were asked that day when that had been actually declassified. And you said in that gaggle that it had been declassified that day. And if that’s the case, then when the information was passed on to the reporter 10 days earlier, then it was still classified at that time.
It may not seem like a fascinating point, but this question, asked repeatedly throughout the briefing, touches on something reporters can’t let go of: if the [tag]NIE[/tag] was declassified on July 18, 2003, and Bush authorized leaks from the NIE on July 8, 2003, then Bush participated in the leak of classified information. And, contrary to the White House line, Bush didn’t automatically declassify the document by virtue of him leaking it.
McClellan dodged and weaved (and worked up a bit of a sweat), but could only muster up the ability to offer this gem:
McClellan: The President believes the leaking of classified information is a very serious matter. And I think that’s why it’s important to draw a distinction here. Declassifying information and providing it to the public, when it is in the public interest, is one thing. But leaking classified information that could compromise our national security is something that is very serious. And there is a distinction.
Now, there are Democrats out there that fail to recognize that distinction, or refuse to recognize that distinction. They are simply engaging in crass politics. Let’s make clear what the distinction is.
We’re going to be hearing that line a lot in the coming weeks. Good leaks are the ones that help Bush politically; bad leaks are the ones that embarrass the president. As far as McClellan is concerned, it’s not crass to selectively leak classified information for partisan gain; it’s crass to point out that Bush selectively leaked classified information for partisan gain.
This was fun, too:
Q: Scott, let me ask you about the issue of credibility. Isn’t the fact that you’re up here having to vigorously defend and make the distinction between what some people see as leaking and what you are saying, from what I understand, is the sharing of information to provide historical context — isn’t that illustrative of the fact that the President’s credibility has been damaged by it?
McClellan: The Democrats have a credibility problem when they try to suggest that we were manipulating intelligence, or that this is about something other than what I just said. That’s crass politics. And they’re the ones who have an issue when it comes to what you bring up.
The White House press secretary apparently has the temperament of a third grader. He didn’t say, “I know you are but what am I” but he came close.
Read the whole transcript; it was more entertaining than most. These reporters smelled blood in the water — whether they keep up this level of intensity remains to be seen.