Monday's WH Briefing: McClellan Faces the '12-Hour Gap' ( E&P)

[RedEarth]

Monday's WH Briefing: McClellan Faces the '12-Hour Gap'

By E&P Staff

Published: July 25, 2005 4:00 PM ET

NEW YORK Questions from reporters for Press Secretary Scott McClellan at today's White House press briefing ranged widely, from the Roberts nomination to the Supreme Court to continuing disputes with North Korea. Still, reporters kept returning to the Plame/CIA leak case, with several questions centering on an emerging angle now known as the "12-hour gap."

This is the length of time it took for then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales in 2003 to notify White House staffers not to "lose" any evidence relevant to the Plame probe after being notified by the Justice Department that a full investigation was about to begin. Gonzales only told one person -- Chief of Staff Andew Card -- right away. He revealed this, unexpectedly, on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

Here is the related exchange from today's official transcript:

Q Do Karl Rove and Scooter Libby still have top secret clearance here, access to classified documents?

MR. McCLELLAN: You asked this question last week, and --

Q I did. And I'm asking again.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- the President has said what our answer is to these questions. We'll be glad to talk about all these issues once the investigation is complete

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000991278

[SpiralHawk]

1. Scottie says the Treasonous Traitors still have Top Security Clearances

And Pope Bush's blessing.

Republicans: Soft on treason.

[ashling]

11. Treasonous Traitors

Treasonous Traitors

a traitor is by definition treasonous

sort of like "Lunatic Republicans"

[SpiralHawk]

13. Yeah, and sort of like lying liars and the lies they tell

Treasonous traitors in the Bush/Republican White House.

Or Traitorous Treasonophites in the Bush/Republican White House.

Same thing any which who.

[Tigress DEM]

26. Fair and Balanced Treasonous Traitors

FAUX News will remind us that it is these Traitors who give us the blessed talking points, so they must be fair and balanced - elsewise the blessed talking points might be misaligned with the proverbial stars of non.

[Verve]

2. Poor Scotty is going to have to start wearing Depends if these questions

continue:

"There has been a lot of speculation concerning the meaning of the underlying statute and the grand jury investigation concerning Mr. Rove. The question is, have the legal counsel to the White House or White House staff reviewed the statute in sufficient specificity to determine whether a violation of that statute would, in effect, constitute treason?"

LOL! Keep up the good work WH reporters!

[Tigress DEM]

27. Go Scottie, Go Scottie! Fill your diaper. Go Scottie!

White House reporters with real teeth. I love it!




:bounce:

[mrdmk]

3. HEADLINE: White House Confirms that 12 hour gap is part of the

Investigation

<snip>
Q On the leak investigation, does President Bush feel that it was appropriate for there to be an 11 or 12-hour time gap from the time that Chief of Staff Andy Card was notified that an investigation was underway to the time that staff here at the White House, including him ...

MR. McCLELLAN: I think the President has said that -- and the President directed the White House at the beginning of the investigation to cooperate fully with those overseeing the investigation. And that is exactly what we have done, and that's what we did in that context, as well. If you will recall, back on October 1st of 2003, these questions came up and I addressed it at that time. So you might want to go back and look at that discussion during that briefing.
<end of snip>

Lets see the LMSM put that on to the front page above the fold!

note: Mr. McClellan is being asked to repeat lies and he will not.

[Supersedeas]

6. he also 'will not' correct the record

[mrdmk]

51. They are using the, "Let them cure at the darkness", defense n/t

[existentialist]

22. gap being longer than twelve hours

(old news already better reported on two of the other replies on this thread)

[Why Syzygy]

23. ooooohh

so THAT's why singing, soaring eagle Ashcroft had to take the exit.
HE KNOWS. He was the outpost. Aha.

[ktowntennesseedem]

34. Oh thanks! Now that damn song is stuck in my head!!!

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:


:evilgrin:

[CanonRay]

35. What song? Watchin' Scotty Snow?

[ktowntennesseedem]

36. No, its none other than that rousing little tune Asscroft wrote himself...

"Let the eeeeeeagle soar,
like she's never sooooooared befooooooooore..."

(Those aren't tears of joy I'm shedding, I'm just trying to keep from hurling my lunch.)

:hurts:

[Hav]

37. BAHAAHAHA

Watch it here and enjoy:
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2424640?htv=12

[ktowntennesseedem]

43. Oh, you're evil, evil I say!!!

May your computer crash for merely posting that hideous link!!!

:evilgrin:

[grannylib]

47. Oh I agree....that's cruel and unusual punishment. I first heard the

song in the little short flick "Asscroft" on FSTV, it rocked...and now I HAVE IT STUCK IN MY HEAD TOO!!! DAMMITALL!!!!!

[goclark]

39. Stop It! I'm ROTFL! nt

[Why Syzygy]

49. To REALLY enjoy it

you must rent "Fahrenheit 911" (Michael Moore).

The rest of the film soundtrack is much better.

[ktowntennesseedem]

50. My kids bought me the F-911 DVD last Christmas.

Beats the heck out of another tie!

[xxqqqzme]

4. thank goodness he 'only' told

card. At least it wasn't someone important - card is just a like secretary or staff pool employee - right???

:sarcasm:

[SoCalDem]

5. Shazzzzaaaam.. You mean that Card is not the assistant to the

temporary valet?? :):sarcasm:

[MidwestTransplant]

8. I am sure Rove, Libby and Card had a very late night that night.

If Fitzgerald finds out anything of this sort happend those guys are majorly screwed.

[Roy]

7. They should ask question framed....

so that a non-answer is an affirmative answer.

scotty did the president order documents to be shredded?

Evening Headline:
White House spokesman refuses to deny president Bush ordered documents be shredded.

I'll bet they will start answering questions then!

[Roland99]

9. I need to save all the videos of these for posterity

;)

[Catshrink]

10. Helen Thomas is a treasure

I'm so glad she's back and that she never lets up. You go girl!

[ProgressiveFool]

12. Nice Freudian typo there... was that from the WH?

But in the spirit of cooperation, and you had indicted (sic) on October 1, 2003, that the reason that the Justice Department was asked, is it okay to wait until the morning and the answer was that it was okay -- but in the spirit of cooperation, why did the notification not go out until 11 or 12 hours later?

[calimary]

44. Welcome to DU! And yes, I like that typo.

Another nice little tool to help your visualization exercises. Nothing like mental pictures to give your subconscious something to sink its teeth into.

Visualize IMPEACHMENT.
Pass it on...

[Mugsy]

14. I saw Gonzo admit this on "Fox News Sunday" to Hume.

Yes, I actually watch "Fox News Sunday" each week. I watch EVERYTHING! I even record ABC's "This Week" while watching NBC's "Meet the Press".

Brit Hume was filling in for the oft absent Chris Wallace, and Hume actually asked Gonzales if he notified anyone in the WH "right away".
His response (IIRC) was:

"I called the Chief of Staff and told him there would be an investigation", said the AG.

"Did you call anyone else on the WH staff?" asked Hume.

"No, it was late, around 8pm, so I thought it best to wait until morning when the investigation was to open 12 hours later."

Supringly enough, Hume actually followed up with a couple of questions regarding whether or not that was a wise thing to do.

The first thought running through my head then was: "if it was so late, why call even Card? Why give him a 12 hour headstart?"

It'll be interesting to see if an investigation follows. The AG can't exactly investigate himself for facilitating a crime.

:wtf:

[Why Syzygy]

24. late? 8 PM?

:gaga: If I'm not mistaken, the news doesn't even broadcast until 11:00 in D.C. Late?

[WinkyDink]

42. It was past Chimpy's bedtime!

HAHA!

[Why Syzygy]

48. Past the pretzel bewiching hour no doubt.

:sarcasm:

[grasswire]

15. Hume (or someone) should have asked these followups of Gonzales:

1. Was Card the only person you told about the pending investigation before it began? If not, who else did you inform?

2. Did you instruct Card to keep the news of the pending investigation to himself, or was it your understanding that he would pass the information on to someone else?

3. Did the president's name come up in your conversation with Card?

[sallyseven]

16. I remember Andy Card when he was a decent Republican.

How far has he fallen? Into the sewer with the president and the rest of the gang. He might go to jail for destroying stuff.

[Postman]

17. Gap could be 84 HOURS !!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4190133

[truthisfreedom]

21. MSNBC announced that the CIA wanted an investigation three days before!!!

watch the Keith Olberman piece (Monday the 25th of July) here!:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/

[ktowntennesseedem]

18. That has become his answer for everything.

I can hear it now:

Q: Scott, what would you like for lunch?

A: I'll be happy to answer that as soon as we have finished this ongoing investigation.

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: I'll be happy to answer that as soon as we have finished this ongoing investigation.

Q: What is the air velocity of an unladen swallow?

A: I'll be happy to answer that as soon as we have finished this ongoing investigation.

etc, etc, etc...

[existentialist]

20. "What's your favorite color?"

(as in from Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

[AuntiBush]

19. F-UM! They've Ruined our Country & our World.

Snotty - Nothing but *'s lying mouthpiece to Americans!

[zara]

25. Obligation not to shred occurs when aware of investigation---

hence 84 hours is the figure. Example, the Anderson case, where they had a shredding party before the official notification where they already knew they shouldn't have been shredding.

[goclark]

40. Question: If the email is on Card's computer

and he shredded it, wouldn't it still be on Novak's( for example) computer?

Isn't that just a one sided act of shredding?
Couldn't they check Novak's comoputer at the same time?

Did I say that correctly????

[KTM]

28. WOW which brave soul used the T word ?!?!?!

Q: Yes, thank you. There has been a lot of speculation concerning the meaning of the underlying statute and the grand jury investigation concerning Mr. Rove. The question is, have the legal counsel to the White House or White House staff reviewed the statute in sufficient specificity to determine whether a violation of that statute would, in effect, constitute treason?"

:wow:

[louis-t]

32. Helen Thomas asked the question directly

Then came the crickets chirping.

[goforit]

46. Helen Thomas always gets away with the taboo words........YES

IT IS.....................
T_R_E_A_S_O_N_

[njdemocrat106]

29. Shades of Watergate?

Is it just me, or is this whole story reminiscent of the missing half hour on the Nixon tapes?

[gademocrat7]

30. It does remind me of the Nixon tape gap

But with a rethug majority in the House and Senate can these criminals be impeached and jailed????

[CAcyclist]

31. Why Did The Justice Dept. Wait Until 8:30 Pm To Call?

This may be a red herring as I don't know how DC works, but isn't it unusual for a government agency to still be at work at 8:30 pm?

Do we know from phone records that Gonzales actually received the call at 8:30pm?

And, if so, is it possible the person in the Justice Dept. relaying the information deliberately delayed giving it until so late in the evening just so the White House could get a heads up like this? Do we know who in the Justice Dept. contacted Gonzales?

[not fooled]

45. Hey, the * Crime Family and its minions...

...never sleep (well, except for the puppet itself).

Operating an organized crime enterprise is HARD WORK!

[0007]

33. Scotty will be glad to talk about these question after the investigation

is over? Yeah right! Scotty will be long gone hiding his sick ass kissing ugly face.

[Toucano]

38. The question has NOTHING to do with an investigation!!!

Do they have security clearance or not?

[Hav]

41. .

And whether he would fire them or not doesn't have anything to do with an investigation as well.
But I guess everybody realises that they are only talking bull anyway.

[peacetalksforall]

52. Scotty - you and your bosses are absolutely cunningly wicked and

I am angry that you think we are stupid and of blank minds.

It is one thing to not talk about what happened in that famous week - sure go ahead and wait for the investigation to be complete...

but we are talking today - do these suspects still have access to national security documents and facts?

This is now, today, July 27, 2005 - do these abusers and mis-users still have access?