McClellan dodged the Karl Rove bullet THIRTY THREE TIMES today.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

1. MCCLELLAN: I appreciate your question. I think your question is being asked related to some reports that are in reference to an ongoing criminal investigation. The criminal investigation that you reference is something that continues at this point. And as I’ve previously stated, while that investigation is ongoing, the White House is not going to comment on it. The president directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation. And as part of cooperating fully with the investigation, we made a decision that we weren’t going to comment on it while it is ongoing.

2. MCCLELLAN: Yes, but this question is coming up in the context of this ongoing investigation, and that’s why I said that our policy continues to be that we’re not going to get into commenting on an ongoing criminal investigation from this podium. The prosecutors overseeing the investigation had expressed a preference to us that one way to help the investigation is not to be commenting on it from this podium. And so that’s why we are not going to get into commenting on it while it is an ongoing investigation — or questions related to it.

3. MCCLELLAN: Again, John, I appreciate the question. I know you want to get to the bottom of this. No one wants to get to the bottom of it more than the president of the United States.
And I think the way to be most helpful is to not get into commenting on it while it is an ongoing investigation. And that’s something that the people overseeing the investigation have expressed a preference that we follow. And that’s why we’re continuing to follow that approach and that policy. Now, I remember very well what was previously said. And, at some point, I will be glad to talk about it, but not until after the investigation is complete.

4. MCCLELLAN: Well, I think maybe you missed what I was saying in reference to Terry’s question at the beginning. There came a point, when the investigation got under way, when those overseeing the investigation asked that it would be — or said that it would be their preference that we not get into discussing it while it is ongoing.
I think that’s the way to be most helpful to help them advance the investigation and get to the bottom of it.

5. MCCLELLAN: Again, David, this is a question relating to a ongoing investigation, and you have my response related to the investigation. And I don’t think you should read anything into it other than: We’re going to continue not to comment on it while it’s ongoing.

6. MCCLELLAN: I’m well aware, like you, of what was previously said. And I will be glad to talk about it at the appropriate time. The appropriate time is when the investigation…

7. MCCLELLAN: There will be a time to talk about this, but now is not the time to talk about it.

8. MCCLELLAN: Again, I’ve responded to the question.

9. MCCLELLAN: No, that’s not a correct characterization. And I think you are well aware of that. We know each other very well. And it was after that period that the investigators had requested that we not get into commenting on an ongoing criminal investigation. And we want to be helpful so that they can get to the bottom of this. Because no one wants to get to the bottom of it more than the president of the United States. I am well aware of what was said previously. I remember well what was said previously. And at some point I look forward to talking about it. But until the investigation is complete, I’m just not going to do that.

10. MCCLELLAN: Again, you’re continuing to ask questions relating to an ongoing criminal investigation and I’m just not going to respond to them.

11. MCCLELLAN: I appreciate your questions. You can keep asking them, but you have my response.

12. MCCLELLAN: I’ve responded to the questions.

13. MCCLELLAN: I’ve responded to your questions.

14. MCCLELLAN: Again, after the investigation is complete, I will be glad to talk about it at that point.

15. MCCLELLAN: Well, those overseeing the investigation expressed a preference to us that we not get into commenting on the investigation while it’s ongoing. And that was what they requested of the White House. And so I think in order to be helpful to that investigation, we are following their direction.

16. MCCLELLAN: Again, these are all questions coming up in the context of an ongoing criminal investigation. And you’ve heard my response on this.

17. MCCLELLAN: You’re asking this question in the context of an ongoing investigation, and I would not read anything into it other then I’m simply going to comment on an ongoing investigation.

18. MCCLELLAN: Again, you have my response to these questions.

19. MCCLELLAN: Well, I think the president has previously spoken to this.

20. MCCLELLAN: No one wants to get to the bottom of it more than the president of the United States. And we’re just not going to have more to say on it until that investigation is complete.

21. MCCLELLAN: Again, you’re asking questions relating to an ongoing investigation, and I think I’ve responded to it.

22. MCCLELLAN: This is still coming at the same question relating to reports about an ongoing investigation. And I think I’ve responded to...

23. MCCLELLAN: Do you have questions on another topic?

24. MCCLELLAN: I appreciate the question. I think I’ve responded.

25. MCCLELLAN: Again, I’m going to be happy to talk about this at the appropriate time. You and everybody in this room — or most people in this room, I should say — know me very well, and they know the type of person that I am. And I’m confident in our relationship that we have. But I will be glad to talk about this at the appropriate time, and that’s once the investigation is complete. I’m not going to get into commenting based on reports or anything of that nature.

26. MCCLELLAN: You’ve heard my response.

27. MCCLELLAN: And I think those are questions best directed to the special prosecutor. Again, this is an ongoing matter. I’m just not going to get into commenting on it further at this time. At the appropriate time, when it’s complete, then I’ll be glad to talk about it at that point.

28. MCCLELLAN: It’s the same type of question. You’re asking me to comment on an ongoing investigation and I’m not going to do that.

29. MCCLELLAN: Understood. The president directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation, and that’s what he expects people in the White House to do.

30. MCCLELLAN: Again, I’ve already responded.

31. MCCLELLAN: You can direct those questions to the special prosecutors. I think probably more than one individual who’s involved in overseeing the investigation had expressed a preference that we not get into commenting on the investigation while it’s ongoing. I think we all want to see the prosecutors get to the bottom of this matter. The president wants to see the prosecutors get to the bottom of this matter. And the way to help them do that is to not get into commenting on it while it is ongoing.

32. MCCLELLAN: I already responded to these questions.

33. MCCLELLAN: Again, I’m just not going to say anything further. I expressed all I’m going to say on this matter from this podium.

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/07/11/briefing-711/

[acmejack]

1. He was dancing as fast as he could.

First time in years I've seen the White House Press act like they were actually reporters, real live ones at that!

[wildeyed]

21. I know.

I was thinking, damn, the white house press corps ate their wheaties this morning! Maybe they will start to make a habit of it. You know, doing their jobs and stuff. I would like that :)

[Richard Steele]

2. Link to C-Span video:

http://www.cspan.org/videoarchives.asp?CatCodePairs=,&ArchiveDays=100

This was an AMAZING Q&A session...
Press Corps was actually LAUGHING as Scotty squirmed!

Just a Must-see!

It was better than "Cats";
I'm going to see it again and again...

[orleans]

46. where is it on the c-span page? i can't find it. please help.

[Richard Steele]

47. Looks like they removed it, Sorry you missed it.

I'm sure someone will have it Posted elsewhere by tomorrow;
it's a real must-see.

[orleans]

48. i found it and here's the link:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/briefings/

and click on july 11 press breifing by quack-quack mcclellan

or
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/07/20050711-3.html
and click on view

what a stitch! i had a few good laughs over that little hot seat and i didn't see his shit-eating smile very often (i wonder why--boo hoo).

here's one of my favorite questions (off topic of rove):
"Q Scott, since President William Howard Taft became Chief Justice after his presidency, you would not rule out the President nominating former law school professor Bill Clinton to the Supreme Court, would you? And if you wouldn't, we can report that President Clinton is under consideration, can't we?"

[Roland99]

52. Too bad that video focuses on Liar Boy the whole time

[Coexist]

3. Great compilation!

thanks for that.

[vickie]

36. Absolutely priceless compilation! Thank you!

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

4. 33 times

This must prove the Bush Administration's link to Jesus now. After all Jesus was 33 when he died. :sarcasm:

[Zeke]

5. NO WAY...

Perfect joke!
That is funny. Great tie-in.
Jesus is laughing hard at your post.
Nice work!

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

7. My biggest problem...

with Bush and his ilk is that they always use Jesus, yet their policies are the antithesis of what Jesus would have advocated.

[IndyOp]

25. Welcome to DU UCSBLiberalCat53...

:hi:

"...their policies are the antithesis of what Jesus would have advocated." Yep. Did you hear Bill Moyers speech at the Media Reform Conference in St. Louis a few months back? He said that the aforementioned 'ilk' want the eyes of the faithful direct upward in prayer so that they won't notice when their pockets are being picked.

Also, if you haven't seen it before: 'Gospel of Supply Side Jesus'
<http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/03/09/17_franken.html>

:kick:

[faithnotgreed]

28. me too ucsb! in fact many of us too!

youre right - they DO use Jesus

welcome to du

[ChiciB1]

31. I Just Started A Thread Stating That It Was...

Two Davids & a John who began the chatter! Religious enough??

[AuntiBush]

54. My Sediments All Along, "UCSBLiberalCat53!" & Welcome to DU!

:hi:

You hit the nail on what I've been saying since Day 1. Welcome to DU! Hope you find solace here, as I did, too.

[mom cat]

6. Wow! Great synopsis! reccomended for greatest page. Very good work.

:dem::bounce::bounce::applause::smoke::smoke::yourock::smoke::smoke::applause::bounce::bounce::kick:

[Tesla]

11. He's good at bobbing!!

[Sparkly]

8. I count 22 uses of the word "ongoing." n/t

[pscot]

9. Reminds me of Fearless Fosdick

Who used to "cleverly absorb the bullets" into his body, only to emerge from his encounters shot full of holes. I think Scotty is about to spring a leak.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

34. And Fearless Fosdick was also a puppet on a string

In addition to the comic strip, Fearless Fosdick was a marionette with his own NBC TV puppet show, in the days just before the Howdy Doody Show. It ran in 1952 and is my earliest memory of television.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

39. Congratulations you have passed your Alzheimer’s test, excellent recall

[paparush]

10. What a GREAT Post

Thanks for the hard work!

[meganmonkey]

12. I can't wait to get home and watch the video

That sounds hilarious!

:rofl:

[Cassandra]

13. Takes the MSM a while to get started...

let's hope they keep at it.

[paparush]

14. So, is Scotty saying that this is an "..ongoing investigation.."

or what? Jesus H. Christ..has the guy got nothing better.????

[Dudley_DUright]

16. Considering last time he claimed Rove was not involved in this at all

there was also an ongoing investigation, it ain't much to hide behind.

[rateyes]

32. ongoing CRIMINAL investigation...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

[Duer 157099]

15. Liar! McClellan is a LIAR!

"3. MCCLELLAN: ... No one wants to get to the bottom of it more than the president of the United States."

What a LIE!! I can't think of hundreds, probably THOUSANDS of people who do!

On the other hand, maybe it was code for "No one 'wants this to sink to the bottom' more than the president of the United States." Then he'd be telling the truth.

[JohnnyRingo]

17. Reading Scotts mind:

"WHY...didn't I call off sick today?"

"Jeff Gannon, Wherefore art thou, Jeff gannon."

"Ari Fleischer Knew this was gonna happen someday."

"I've been needing to spend more time with my family."


Ditto Greatest page nom.

[progressoid]

18. Translation:

"Whew, its getting hot in here.

Is is just me or has the A.C. turned off?

Maybe it's these new cotton/poly blend undershirts.

Anyone else feel a little warm?

Man, I need a drink"

[quiet.american]

19. "Criminal" mentioned six times --

Great compilation -- thanks! And it's great that in sidestepping all these questions, the word "criminal" was heard at least six times from the Bushco podium!

[Pithy Cherub]

20. McClellan is a new swiss cheese variant

after today! :rofl:

So the press pod people were actually working on behalf of the public today, very interesting. It takes at least 21 times (in a row) before it becomes habit-forming...

[Citizen Jane]

22. Which response was the reply

to the question about Scotty changing his story in "this very room?"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

23. It was during the exchange with David Gregory (same URL as above)

He said "You stood at that podium and said that Karl Rove was not involved."

QUESTION: Scott, can I ask you this: Did Karl Rove commit a crime?

MCCLELLAN: Again, David, this is a question relating to a ongoing investigation, and you have my response related to the investigation. And I don’t think you should read anything into it other than: We’re going to continue not to comment on it while it’s ongoing.

QUESTION: Do you stand by your statement from the fall of 2003, when you were asked specifically about Karl and Elliot Abrams and Scooter Libby, and you said, I’ve gone to each of those gentlemen, and they have told me they are not involved in this ?

QUESTION: Do you stand by that statement?

MCCLELLAN: And if you will recall, I said that, as part of helping the investigators move forward on the investigation, we’re not going to get into commenting on it. That was something I stated back near that time as well.

QUESTION: Scott, this is ridiculous. The notion that you’re going to stand before us, after having commented with that level of detail, and tell people watching this that somehow you’ve decided not to talk.
You’ve got a public record out there. Do you stand by your remarks from that podium or not?

MCCLELLAN: I’m well aware, like you, of what was previously said. And I will be glad to talk about it at the appropriate time. The appropriate time is when the investigation…

QUESTION: (inaudible) when it’s appropriate and when it’s inappropriate?

MCCLELLAN: If you’ll let me finish.

QUESTION: No, you’re not finishing. You’re not saying anything. You stood at that podium and said that Karl Rove was not involved. And now we find out that he spoke about Joseph Wilson’s wife. So don’t you owe the American public a fuller explanation. Was he involved or was he not? Because contrary to what you told the American people, he did indeed talk about his wife, didn’t he?

MCCLELLAN: There will be a time to talk about this, but now is not the time to talk about it.

QUESTION: Do you think people will accept that, what you’re saying today?

MCCLELLAN: Again, I’ve responded to the question.

[Citizen Jane]

24. Thanks

If I had been watching with the windows open I would have caught flies in my mouth during that part! (Or mosquitoes, yech!)

[mourningdove92]

26. Oh Wow...he got GRILLED.

Wish I could have seen it. Thank DUers for the links. I will watch when I get home. Firewalls at work won't let me watch videos.

[stevedeshazer]

27. Scotty's Poppin' Fresh!

[LiberalFighter]

29. Ongoing investigation...

I would had come back with the question... "Why is the investigation taking so long? Is the WH impeding the investigation?"

[LiberalFighter]

30. Directed the White House???

The president directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation.

Isn't the president suppose to be and represent the White House? So is gw*dipshit directing someone other then himself to cooperate so he doesn't have to cooperate?

Press should ask the question... "How do we know that the WH is cooperating fully with the investigation? If Karl Rove is found to have lied about the Plame Affair wouldn't that mean that most if not all of the White House including gw*dipshit are lying?"

[Lecky]

33. It's on again on CSPAN

:)

[Chichiri]

35. Dance, Scotty, Dance!

[StaggerLee]

37. Since when did we have a real WH press corps?

Anywayz I'm loving these McClellen threads.

Can't wait to get home and watch the clip.

:popcorn:

[CitrusLib]

38. I need a nap after just reading that. Scotty must be exhausted!

[osaMABUSh]

40. This is unbelievable - this WH is being questioned???

Over half of the questions were about Rove. And there were a few on other topics that weren't so flattering either.

Full text:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/07/20050711-3.html


Some incredible questions:

Q Well, you're in a bad spot here, Scott, because after the investigation began, after the criminal investigation was underway, you said -- October 10th, 2003, "I spoke with those individuals, Rove, Abrams and Libby, as I pointed out, those individuals assured me they were not involved in this." From that podium. That's after the criminal investigation began. Now that Rove has essentially been caught red-handed peddling this information, all of a sudden you have respect for the sanctity of the criminal investigation?

Q Well, then the President commented on it nine months later. So was he not following the White House plan?

Q We are going to keep asking them. When did the President learn that Karl Rove had had a conversation with the President -- with a news reporter about the involvement of Joseph Wilson's wife and the decision to send -

Q And a follow-up. Can you walk us through why, given the fact that Rove's lawyer has spoken publicly about this, it is inconsistent with the investigation, that it compromises the investigation to talk about the involvement of Karl Rove, the Deputy Chief of Staff?

[Arugula Latte]

45. Wow. Didn't anyone tell the media they're just stenographers?

That's what they've done for 4 1/2 years now. Why are they changing their ways to sneak in a little *gasp* journalism?

[BrightKnight]

41. You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.

You have the right to stop answering questions or giving a statement any time you wish, and you do not have to give a reason. ...

-MIRANDA WARNING

[peaches2003]

42. Should resign

In the 'old days' of just 30 or so years ago, any Press Secretary with a wit of self respect would resign after having been instructed to lie and now he's caught. There still is such a thing as looking in the mirror and knowing you have sold your soul.

Oh, that's right. If Scottie wasn't an immoral or amoral dupe Bush never would have selected him in the first place.

[spanone]

43. ...and it's only Monday!

[snot]

44. And he hasn't collected his Medal of Honor yet. nt

[Iteachyourkids]

49. Scotty needs to resign, Rove needs to be indicted but we need

we need to make sure that the White House Press Corps KNOWS how much we appreciate this! 30+ questions and they NEVER threw him a life line, never said "Scott, how does the President feel about God?". These guys rocked today! I gotta sak what got into these folks? Whatever they had for breakfast, they need to stick with it!

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

50. David Gregory, especially, would not back down at ALL.

It was like he was the AntiGannon or something.

They showed a clip on "Hardball" in which you could see his face as he asked the questions. He was seriously pissed off, and he didn't attempt to hide it.

Say what you want about the media...today, they earned their paychecks.



:toast:

[Historic NY]

51. Tomorrows briefing should be a sight too.........

the press corp needs to keep them on the ropes.

[AuntiBush]

53. OH. He's "Catapulting" all right. Propaganda this Scotty:

Honestly, I wouldn't mind sending you a gift certificate for some Depends. After watching and reading this last night and today, I'd say you're gonna' need them in the coming days and weeks. Oh hell, in the months (even) to follow!

Excuse me (again) while I have a much-earned ecstatic moment here:

:applause::bounce::applause::bounce::applause::bounce::applause::applause::bounce::applause::bounce::applause::bounce::applause:
:applause::bounce::applause::bounce::applause::bounce::applause::applause::bounce::applause::bounce::applause::bounce::applause:

Absorbent Solutions (Scotty): http://www.absorbentsolutions.com/


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