McClellan: Bush Should Have Fired Rove After Plame Leak (VIDEO)

President Bush broke his promise to the country by refusing to fire aide Karl Rove for leaking a CIA agent's identity, said Scott McClellan, the president's chief spokesman for almost three years.

"I think the president should have stood by his word and that meant Karl should have left," McClellan said Sunday in a broadcast interview about his new tell-all book, a scathing rebuke of the White House under Bush's leadership.

McClellan now acknowledges he felt burned by Rove, Bush's top political adviser, and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. He said Rove and Libby assured him they were not involved in leaking CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, and he repeated those assurances to reporters.

In fact, Rove and Libby did help leak Plame's identity, as confirmed in a later criminal investigation. Libby had resigned by then, but Rove remained in office and eventually stepped down on his terms in August 2007.

"I think the president should have stood by the word that we said, which was that if you were involved in this in any way, then you would no longer be in this administration. And Karl was involved in it," McClellan said.

White House press secretary Dana Perino declined comment Sunday.

Keep reading here.

Watch McClellan on Meet the Press:

Comments

[kellygrrrl]

Treason
Crimes Against Humanity
Mass Murder
etc.

[ljwaldron]

For everyone criticizing Scott...wh­o did you vote for in '04?

[renoir]

not bush. and certainly not scott. he did the right thing... finally. after years and deaths and more lies. imagine if he had done the right thing as soon as he knew THEY were doing the wrong thing.

course, the republican majority would of crushed any investigation, so i guess now was the only time that he could of exposed it and gotten any real attention.

[coollbreezz]

Rove is a very important component of the conspiracy. Without Rove Bush would not had been in office. Bush is only a part of the great conspiracy. MSM and main stream religion also played a major roll in the propaganda campaign leading up to the Iraq war.. But the Iraq war wasn't about WMDs, or advancing democracy not even about oil.. According to Bush adviser and member of the 9/11 commission Phillip Zelikow , he said the "Iraq war was launched to protect Israel." Its all about Israel and the NWO agenda. The White House and the MSM has covered-up this truth.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0329-11.htm
http://joeland7.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/the-new-world-order-religious-and-political-conspiracy/

[cheneyhasawarmachine]

rich armatige leaked the name not rove scotty should have been fired for doing what rove says without question.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Armitage fessed up.

But was he the ONLY leaker?

Did any of the journalists indicate Armitage was the only one?

[fourex]

rich armatige leaked the name not rove,
false, the Libby trial found that their were at least three leakers.

[KOisGod]

And one reporter - Novak

Why isn't that F-**k in jail?

[trollsbwild]

Rove controlled Bush, not the other way around. It has been mentioned that the DOJ was politicized by this WH. Truth is that anything Bush was involved in, the party ALWAYS came before country. The plan was for the GOP to have permanent control of our government. Rove was the mastermind behind that ideology.
The plan failed due to overstepping. Not to mention utter incompetency on every front. The remaining issue is whether any investigation or oversight of what has transpired is going to take place. It is my belief the facts, if allowed to be known, will clearly show that crimes were committed and there should be consequences.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

I'm not so sure it failed. The "runaway gov't spending" (to quote McCorp of all people) for the war will mean future gov'ts will have less money to spend on social programs and the like.

So in future, no matter who is in power nominally, the corporations (i.e. the same 'type' of people who controlled this gov't) will still be calling the shots monetarily.

Even if the whole cabal goes down in flames in terms of popular opinion, they've still managed to wreck the system for a long time to come, and hence will be heroes in some circles.

[freshnotbitter]

McClellan has been getting a lot of grief from a lot of different people lately but I saw his 30 minute interview with Tim Russert, which was no piece of cake, and I flat out like the guy.

Why are we chastising the guy who says "I was wrong and I wrote a book which explains what I think was wrong with the Bush White House", when we still have a Republican party that is in complete denial.

Look at Senator Dole and his scathing attack on McClellan which reduces McClellan to a traitor. I wonder what Dole said about O'Neil's book, which O'Neil wrote after he left Bush's cabinet,criticizing Bush just as McClellan has done. Senator Dole is just a bully who wouldn't dare attack O'Neil because O'Neil is a former Fortune 500 CEO and McClellan is a small fry by comparison. Actually, McClellan's book is much more justifiable than O'Neil's book, if you ask me. I read O'Neil's book and I don't have a problem with it but I think his criticism of Bush was based on Bush not agreeing to O'Neil's personal agenda, which PRESIDENT Bush was not required to do, whereas McClellan's book criticizes Bush on grounds Bush was damaging the country by dint of Bush's character flaws and mis-management of the Iraq war.

[bobnolette]

January 20th should be declared a National Holiday for that will be a day to celebrate the cleansing of Bush and his entire administration from this country. I have never been so happy to see a president go.
I would hope that the next president and congress will do the right thing and prosecute Bush and his co-conspirators for war crimes.
I know that a person who is not a natural born citizen of the United States cannot run for president. It's too bad that we don't something in place to protect us from future Bush-like morons.

[marijam]

Bush should be tried for treason and all those who tried to cover it up for him should be right in there with him.

[kellygrrrl]

Crimes Against Humanity!!!!!!!!

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

The phrase everyone is avoiding is "high crimes and misdemeano­rs."

[cheshirecat831]

Bush and Rove have been in an intense co-dependent relationship and there is no way that Bush would have fired him. One can only hope that eventually the crimes committed by the Bush administration will be addressed by Justice Dept prosecution. That is why the Dems have to win in the fall.

[LAWTON]

What do you think John Edwards would do if Barrack made him Attorney General of the U.S. ?

[armadillious2002]

Wouldn't that be sweet - I mean - it's just got to be.

[macbabe]

kick butt and start taking names!!

[john85msy]

Our lovely president said that he gave up golf for the soldiers and their greaving families but months later he was on the course PLAYING GOLF!

He boldly spoke to assure the American people that if anyone in his administration had anything to do with Valerie Plame(CIA Leak case) he would fire them.

Instead the DECIDER(Not the American people) Pardoned him for commiting one of our countries worst criminal acts for payback.

And please do not forget the (R)Republican party in the Senate and House that toed the line for George Bush at almost every turn. They should be challenged hard and the DNC needs to get its act together with support.

[Georgiadude]

During the first half of the interview I was wondering if Sean H. had given Tim R. the questions. It's obvious that corporate America the MSM isn't very comfortable with what McClellan has to say in his book. I just hope that what Scott McClellan, done can help save some lives.

[CincyKid]

Thinking of buying Scott's book?
Here's my suggestion. Take the money you would have spent and donate it directly to a veterans' organization. Then, drop a line to Scott and his publisher and tell them what you did. Better still, attend a book signing event and write the check to the veterans' group at the same table where Scott is autographing his too little, too late tome.

[apogee2perogee]

...or, perhaps, make a generous donation to a veteran's organization, and buy the book too... and judge for yourself.

[scooperss]

EXCELLENT IDEA. and then check the book out if your public library has it. PLEASE PEOPLE DONATE BOOKS

[sawdustinhershoes]

yeah yeah. Too much work. It's not too late. Have faith.

[asemaany]

Buy it and think you have financially assured someone in administration for his future to come forward and disclose the truth. I would do that as many other times as I can to have this people defected and take the others' side and rebuff their group

[ClevelandTom]

If McClellan's book helps to more firmly plant in the minds of Americans an understanding that a president like Bush can manipulate their opinions to ends not in their best interests, such as the Iraq war, then McClellan has done a good deed.

[RSU]

A few questions here:

Where was Scott McClellan all this time if he 'knew' Rove was involved with leaking Plames name?

Is he now saying he's part of a cover up that protected Rove and Libby?

Why didn't he come forward with his earth shattering information at any time during the investigation that stretched from December 30, 2003 to today where the investigation remains officially open?

Is he also saying that Karl Rove and not Richard Armitage was the source of Plames name and that Armigate lied when he told FBI investigators, Attorney General John Ashcroft, and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales as early as October 2, 2003 that he was the source of the Plame leak?

Why did special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald swear Richard Armitage and Robert Novak to secrecy once he knew Armitage was the sole source of the leak? As a point of fact: Patrick Fitzgerald began his grand jury investigation three months after learning that Armitage was the source of the leak. Was that so he could get his name into the history books as special counsel, earn a fat paycheck on the public dime, and cast wide nets to probe the inner workings of Congress and the Presidency knowing full well he already had the answer to his burning question . . . who leaked Plames name to Novak?

The more Scott talks, the less factual he becomes. History, the investigation, and the trial of Scooter Libby does not bear out anything he's saying now.

[1differentdrummer]

Did you read the article?

[ClevelandTom]

McClellan is not saying he knew that Rove was involved in the leak at the time. In fact, his major beef with Rove is that Rove lied to him and encouraged him to repeat that lie to the press.

Everyone understands that Armitage was apparantly the first to leak Plame to the press but testimony at the grand jury and in Libby's trial also shows that Rove and Libby did the same thing. Just because Armitage did it first does not excuse Libby and Rove from doing the same thing. And that is why Fitzgerald continued his investigation.

And you will notice that neither Rove nor lIbby was indicted for the leak, mostly because proving it under the terms of the applicable law is nearly impossible. Libby was indicted for lying to the FBI and the grand jury.

[trollsbwild]

Gee, who could have imagined you would have this typical attack of Scott. You have been given marchng orders and follow without question.

How come the WH did not deny the allegations?

[Jsens3]

I agree with the implications of these questions. And, once information is leaked, its out. Repetition doesn't create another leak. Sorry, but given the inconsistencies with what Scott said then and what Scott says now, I just don't think he is credible.

[fourex]

RSU false again, the Libby grand jury found at least three people involved with leaking Plame to the media. the argument that only Armitage leaked is false in logic and law. all grand jury testimony is secret.

[teacake]

This will go down in history as the beginning of the downfall of the Republican party, which has been infiltrated by unpatriotic, greedy, and evil individuals who would sell out their own country for money and power. Exxon Mobil and other oil cartels are members of this group of traitors. They have wired and controlled out politics, our government, and our lives for so many decades. What we witness today with Scott McClellan exposing the dark nature of the Bush administration is only the tip of the iceberg! The root of the problem in our politics can be traced back to the dark and evil scum in the oil business. Look, the war in Iraq is about oil. The potential war in Iran is about oil. Thousands died because of oil. Hundreds of billions of taxpayers' dollars have been wasted because of oil And we are all paying out of our ears at the pumps. The root of the evil is with the oil cartels. To solve the problem is to destroy the root.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

"... the Republican party, which has been infiltrated by unpatriotic, greedy, and evil individuals who would sell out their own country for money and power."

The worst of the Republicans gained the greatest amount of power.

We should never forget all the other Republicans who let them, who defended them, and who did nothing to stop them.

Aren't the lower-level Republicans also "unpatriotic, greedy, and evil individuals who would sell out [or tolerate the selling out of] their own country"?

[teacake]

Don't forget the STUPID Democrats who voted for Bush!

[Boringat]

Monica said it best..."Th­is political thing leaves a nasty taste in the mouth".

[buddhistMonkey]

Funny, I suppose, but there's a world of difference between consensual sex (even if it is adultery) and the treason of outing of an undercover CIA agent. We now know through Scotty's book that Bush himself authorized the leak of Valerie Plame's identity, and for that he deserves impeachment, jail or worse. His is a crime that no American should seek to trivialize.

[tecpatl]

There's also a world of difference between adultery and starting a criminal war. Currently, that difference can be calculated at 4,085 dead and 29,000 wounded.

[knowhelpnow]

I think it should be or worse.

[Zankee]

That was a low blow....

[TocinoHumano]

The first 6 leters of your screen name are perfect, because Bill Clinton/Monika Lewinsky jokes, in 2008, are Boring!

[1differentdrummer]

But, but, but,......­.