Much to my chagrin, White House reporters haven’t shown much interest in the controversy surrounding three law-abiding, ticket-holding citizens getting thrown out of a public presidential event because of a bumper sticker. Yesterday, however, during Scott McClellan’s press briefing, the issue finally came up again. We didn’t get much of an answer, but it’s encouraging to see a reporter care.
The press corps member specifically asked who the thug is, what role the White House has in training staffers at these events, and whether the White House is encouraging staffers to “screen or expel people from the President’s events based on their point of view.” Here’s McClellan’s response:
“We use a lot of volunteers at events to help us in a number of different areas because you obviously have — you tend to have a lot of people come into the event, a lot of logistical support that you need, and so we do rely on volunteers to help in a lot of different ways at events.
“Now, in terms of this issue, my understanding is a volunteer was concerned that these three individuals were coming to the event solely for the purpose of disrupting it. And if people are coming to the event to disrupt it, they are going to be asked to leave. There are always protest areas set up outside the events where people can express their views.
“These three individuals acknowledged that they were coming to the event to disrupt it. They stated that publicly in some of the initial reports. And so my understanding is the volunteer was concerned about these individuals, and that’s why he asked them to leave.”
There’s a whole lot of mendacity in those 167 words. The Secret Service has said the thug in question was not a volunteer; the Denver Three were excluded because of a bumper sticker instead of their behavior; and they certainly never “acknowledged that they were coming to the event to disrupt it,” in fact, it’s just the opposite.
The Denver Three’s attorney was not amused by the press secretary’s remarks.
“The White House Press Secretary has an obligation to state truthful and accurate information, and at his Wednesday press briefing Scott McClellan ran afoul of this obligation. His assertions at the press briefing are directly disputed by the Secret Service. McClellan’s assertion that a mere ‘volunteer’ was responsible for forcibly removing my clients from the president’s March 21 event misleads the public about the person’s actual authority. The Secret Service has confirmed that it was not a mere volunteer, but an official ‘host committee staff person.’
More egregious, McClellan told White House reporters false information when addressing the staffer’s rationale for forcibly removing my clients…. McClellan’s statement is wrong, and the White House knows it. The Secret Service confirmed, after speaking with the mystery man in question, that the staffer removed my clients solely because of the bumper sticker on their car. This has been reported in the Washington Post and local Denver media, and has been confirmed to us directly.”
For what it’s worth, the same reporter followed up by asking if the White House has a role in directing these “volunteers.” McClellan said:
“I don’t know if I’d view it that way.”
What an odd response. He never got around to saying how he does view it.