Scott McClellan: White House Wanted Me To Stay Silent (VIDEO)

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan spoke out for the first time since excerpts of his new memoir set Washington abuzz, saying on NBC's Today show that he was answering a "higher loyalty" than his affection for President Bush: "loyalty to the truth."

Video of the segment is below, and here are some highlights via Politico:

"The White House would prefer that I not talk openly about my experiences," he said in a lengthy, at time combative interview with anchor Meredith Viera. "These words didn't come to me easy. ... I'm disappointed that things didn't turn out the way we all hoped they would."

He added: "I have a higher loyalty ... than my loyalty to my past work. I have a loyalty to the truth."

Asked if he'll ever talk to the president again, McClellan said: "I don't know. I certainly don't expect it any time soon. I know this is a tough book for some people to accept."

McClellan's book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," has provoked a furious counterattack from his former colleagues, who call it "sad," "puzzling" and "pathetic."

McClellan accused Vice President Cheney of failing his boss. "In a number of ways, he has not served the president well," McClellan said. "Part of it is the secrecy and compartmentalization ... in the White House."

And McClellan said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, when she was White House national security adviser, gave in too often to Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"I felt that too often she was too accommodating ... of the other strong personalities on the foreign policy team ... and too deferential to those individuals," he said.

Former presidential counselor Dan Bartlett, following McClellan on "Today," said McClellan had used "very inflammatory words" like "propaganda," with "not a lot of evidence."

"He never communicated to us that he had these personal misgivings," Bartlett said. "There's not a lot of specific evidence about the most explosive charges."

Comments

[MadJeffersonian]

SCIENTIFIC FIRST...Man actually grows his balls back!

[new logic]

worse than watergate

[MadJeffersonian]

Yep...cause these criminals are getting away with it.

[boolala]

Watching the Bush insiders respond to this with the exact same talking points ("this isn't the Scotty we knew" and "He never said anything at the time" and "he's disgruntled") actually helps explain why McClellen had to get out of that echo chamber before he could see the lies for what they are. One Bushie comes up with a rationale for their atrocities, and all the rest of them latch onto it, turning off any critical part of their brain, and just repeating the daily talking points like mindless parrots.

[Dewtrell]

Meridith Viera is the worst thing to happen to the Today Show. She is always hostile, towards any guest and it's really off-putting. I guess after the View, she wants to prove that she's a hard- nosed journalist but it's having the opposite effect. I can't stand her.

[Janet Carter]

I wish when Meredith kept pounding the "why did you write this book NOW, why NOW, but why NOW"? that Scot would have just looked at her and said "Why NOT now?" (But his answer was very good.)

Obama '08

[Boringat]

Shoot the Messenger!!!!!

[KYJurisDoctor]

While I don't know about any of you commenting on this site or reading from home or work, I can tell you that I CANNOT WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON THAT BOOK to find out "what happened" to the idealist George Bush I voted for in 2000 (notice there is NO mention of 2004).

[suzyhein]

im still irritated that you voted for him in 2000

[biglover]

KYJuris doctor. Everybody makes mistakes - and some people learn from them and others don't. Apparently you had an epiphany. Good for you.

[wrenny]

Her hostility was incredibly unprofessional, to the point of distraction - which seemed purposeful. The same thoughtful responses could have been elicited in a respectful and intelligent manner - but demonstrating her own political bias seemed to matter most to her. I had no preconceived opinions about McClellan, and was surprised at his intelligent and reasonable thinking on all this. It's been strange to see the news people's reactions to his book. Obviously it would have been great if all that had come out a long time ago - why are they all asking the same question: "Why now?" Would they prefer him to wait till the election is over - and why is that? Instead of all this focus on why he didn't say anything when he was in the middle of it, let's hear some attention to what he said. Why aren't we hearing them follow up their complaints with the attitude of "But better late than never"? A suspicious amount of attention is being put on his faults instead of on what he observed and now regrets participating in - why are they trying to bury the messenger? He said in the interview that he was as hard on himself in the book as he was on anyone, and I tend to believe that - it's looking to me like another story the news media has taken and warped into the story they're rather see.

[new logic]

he also hit the MSM where it hurts./ they have been complicit in spreading the propaganda, avoiding the tough questions ect. They didn't want to be kicked off AF1 or kept out of briefings,or not be a part of the "in crowd" so they too attack the messenger. Senator Barak Obama was against the war from the beginning. I am certain Billary and McSame are just as angry as Bush

[LightUpAmerica]

I agree with all the above and our own Arrianna (sp?) was first up in comdemning him. Better late than never, I say. It is pertinant to this election.

[illinB]

I'm sure the attacks against Scott McClellan, from the right, will be vicious.

I wonder how his relationship changed with Bush when his mom challenged Rick Perry for the Governorship in Texas.

[suzyhein]

i figure if you're being attacked by the right, you must be doing something right

[boolala]

I felt towards the end that Scott was miserable in his role as stonewaller/liar to the chief. He looked pained when the press finally started showing backbone and he seemed to dislike saying incoherent statements and falsehoods (unlike Ari Fliesher, Tony Snow, and Dana Perino who can utter outright lies with no apparent discomfort). I wondered at the time if it was just his mother's political career that kept him in the job. He quit shortly after she lost the race for Governor, didn't he?

[new logic]

This war is about Hubris, power/wealth(Oil), and how GW could out shine his father,sooo........
4100+ American solders have thus far been killed, an undisclosed amount severally injured, god only knows how many are permanently mentally crippled, over 2500+ suicides ????? unknown thousands suffering PTSD. who knows the number of orphaned children and spouses, and this is only on the American casualties.
So.......
george,,.. you want your name to live in history....how's this working 4 U

[Tom95134]

The interview is devastating for the entire Bush family because it shows how easily they loose their way when it comes to a question of power. It hearkens back to Prescott Bush supporting Hitler in hopes of gaining power and influence. If there was anything left of the Bush "legacy" this clearly buries it forever.

Scott, during the time he worked for Bush was bought and paid for. They just left the money on the dresser for him. Now that he's had a chance to take a good hot bath... it's truth time.

The interesting thing from the interview is the change between when Bush was governor and president. When he was governor he didn't have Dick Cheney with his hand up his ass pulling the strings.

[asemaany]

When he talks about run up to the war, it just reminds me of so much recent talk about so called Iranian IEDs, Iran's nuclear energy issue, and the rest. They are planning for another war ....

[MzTerri]

Scott is ABSOLUTLELY & 100% correct!

This video proves it!

The Lies That Led to War!!!

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/lies/video.html

Chalabi gave the go ahead to go to war.....whom Charlie Black heavily lobbied for. His firm that lobbied for him (BKSH) is now owned by Mark Penn's firm - Burston-Marsteller.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/roston

Hillary should have sent him packing completely!!!

[boolala]

That's an interesting point. I don't know that much about Prescott Bush other than his famed Nazi connection, but I did watch part of the GHW Bush documentary on PBS (and lived through his presidency).
What I took from that documentary is that George Senior was also a follower--an "appeaser," if you will--not a leader. He supported Nixon and insisted (like Scotty) that Nixon had no personal involvement in Watergate and was SHOCKED to find out he was wrong (according to him). He took a job at the CIA when G. Ford asked him, even though he thought it would hurt his career, because he felt you "could not say no" to the president. He changed his view on abortion (he had been pro-choice) in order to get the VP slot on Reagan's ticket. The documentary showed a real lack of backbone. And yet, George H was a far smarter and more competent man than his son and a far less destructive president. Perhaps this was just because he had better judgement about which people he listened to.

[Turtleluv6]

ok you can read

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar

[BushBites]

Ah, Scotty.

Way to go!

[Rendon76]

Is Merideth a neocon and why the hell is she so combative against Scott? This guy is a little jewel and even though I didn't believe a word he said when he was Press Secretary at least he admits now that he was allowing himself to be deceived and was also deceiving us. We need to nurture Scott and welcome him back to the good nature of humanity. If the guy wants to make a buck while he's at it I say what is wrong with that? It's the American way. Tell the truth and get paid for doing it? God Bless America and God bless Scott McClellan. Lets give him a hand for being on the side of truth, and better late than never.

[asemaany]

It's good, he needs to be asked questions that the other party smears him with to give him a chance to defend

[biglover]

Meredith is trying to show "she's a good interviewer" NOT!!!.
These people (the press) are now trying to cover their asses

[SeriousBlack]

Hear hear!

[DazHype]

oh please meredith where the hell was your damn indignation and interrogations when all this was goin on? oh wait, thats right. you were on the view talkin about your vajayjay.

[Rendon76]

Ha, yeah, exactly. Now the "media" is all defensive because Scott called them out in his book asking where the "liberal" media was when the world really needed them. Listen to David Gregory last night? He's was like "Oh no, it can't be the medias fault" no no no because the media can't do wrong. Truth is that they should have had more BALLS to challenge the Administration but they went along with the Iraq War just about as easily as the Congress did. It's like they cower in the presence of their bullsh1t and I don't get it. Even today this Administration is allowed to go about deceiving everyone and nobody in the media shows any outrage except perhaps Keith Olbermann. Chis Mathews wouldn't stand up for what was just because he believes it ends conversation and you know that guy doesn't ever want things quiet. He'd rather pander to both sides for the sake of keeping the conversation going but never reaching any ends and conclusions which is what we need, not more endless circles of right left conversation.

[ThePublicRecord]

http://www.pubrecord.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=8

McClellan Suggests Plame Cover-up

May 29, 2008

Press secretary McClellan was dragged into the middle of the Plame controversy in September 2003, after the CIA – angered by the blowing of Plame’s cover – got the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation into the leaking of her classified identity.

That comment riled Libby, who feared that he was being hung out to dry. Libby went to his boss, Vice President Cheney, complaining that “they want me to be the sacrificial lamb,” Libby’s lawyer Theodore Wells said later.

Cheney scribbled down his feelings in a note to press secretary McClellan: “Not going to protect one staffer + sacrifice the guy the Pres that was asked to stick his head in the meat grinder because of incompetence of others.”

For more than a year in three separate appearances before a federal grand jury, Rove had insisted he was not a source for columnist Robert Novak and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper, two journalists who were told about Plame’s CIA identity when it was still secret.