Tapper falsely contradicted Wilson, misrepresenting White House pledge to

[steve2470]

...fire Plame leakers" - rest of headline


http://mediamatters.org/items/200507150002


Reporting on the potential consequences for White House senior adviser Karl Rove related to his apparent leaking the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame to the press, ABC News Washington correspondent Jake Tapper again misrepresented pledges by President Bush and his administration to fire anyone responsible for leaking the agent's identity. Tapper falsely contradicted assertions by former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV that the White House had promised to fire "anybody who was involved in the leak," not just those found to have committed a crime.

From the July 14 edition of ABC's World News Tonight:

TAPPER: Today, for the first time since Karl Rove was named as a reporter's source, Wilson called upon the president to fire him.

WILSON (clip): But for the president to honor his word, that he would fire anybody who was involved in the leak.

TAPPER: But the president never said he would fire "anybody involved in the leak." For him, it has been all about the law.

But, as Wilson noted, White House promises to fire those responsible for the leak were not dependent upon whether the leakers violated the law, as Media Matters for America has documented. During a September 29, 2003, press briefing, White House press secretary Scott McClellan pledged that the leaker, once discovered, would be dismissed. At no time did McClellan make this pledge contingent on whether the leakers did anything illegal: <snip>