Remember back in the fall of 2003 when White House spokesman Scott McClellan made the following statements when questioned if Karl Rove may have been involved in the leaking of Valerie Plame’s identity?
“The president knows that Karl Rove wasn’t involved,” “It was a ridiculous suggestion” and “It’s not true.”
So now that it appears that Karl Rove was involved will Bush keep his promise to fire anyone in his administration that was involved in the leak? That’s been the question lots of reporters are asking McClellan and there’s no shortage of Democrats calling for Rove’s head.
I’m not surprised in the least to find out that Rove may have been the source of the leak, it’s the sort of thing I’d expect from him given some of the campaign tactics he’s used in the past, but I was surprised when Bush made his promise to dismiss anyone found to be involved in it. I can only think he must have assumed that the chances of finding out who leaked the info were probably minimal so even if someone in his administration was responsible it would be unlikely to ever see the light of day. In addition to the political problems this will cause, Rove could be in some legal trouble if the investigation shows he is the source of the leak. I’m willing to bet that in a couple of days he’ll offer his resignation if it becomes clear he’s a liability for the President.
For the moment, Bush says he still has confidence in Rove. He may be the only one at this point.
At least after all the crap the real GOP might get tired of the neocon takeover of their party and jettison the fools.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/07/20050711-3.html
In case you had not seen it but wanted to read the whole thing. I was proud of the press this round. They actually made me laugh during a press conference instead of just shaking my head.