McClellan To Testify Before Judiciary Committee

Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, whose scathing memoir about his time in the Bush administration sent waves through Washington D.C., has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, a senior committee official told The Huffington Post.

[Update: Watch McClellan discuss his upcoming testimony on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Video below.]

McClellan's book "What Happened" detailed the "propaganda campaign" that led up to the Iraq war. His hearing is expected to focus heavily on the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame, an episode that McClellan has said was driven by political motivations from within the Oval Office. But the committee could press the former press secretary on other matters within its jurisdiction, including the possible authorization of torture by administration officials (though it remains to be seen how much knowledge McClellan has of that topic).

Earlier on Monday, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers sent an letter to McClellan requesting his testimony.

"I have extended an invitation...after discussions between Committee staff and his attorneys," wrote Conyers. "In his book, Mr. McClellan suggests that senior White House officials may have obstructed justice and engaged in a cover-up regarding the Valerie Plame leak. This alleged activity could well extend beyond the scope of the offenses for which Scooter Libby has been convicted and deserves further attention."

The date on the invitation, June 20, was set in advance to accommodate McClellan's schedule, the official said.

McClellan will be the highest-ranking Bush administration official to be pressed by Congress on the Plame affair. Former Bush strategist Karl Rove has refused to testify, citing executive privilege.

And as such, the testimony could be extremely revealing. According to McClellan, the decision to leak Plame's covert identity emanated from the very top of the Bush White House. The move, he wrote, was politically motivated, as officials were peeved at the critical statements about Iraq coming from Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson. While McClellan said that the president was ultimately misled by his advisers on the matter, he asserted that the episode itself was a stain on the Oval Office - one that led to his disillusionment.

"It's...clear to me that Scooter Libby was guilty of the perjury and obstruction crimes for which he was convicted," McClellan wrote. "When the president commuted Libby's prison sentence and thereby protected him from serving even one day behind bars, I was disappointed. This kind of special treatment undermines our system of justice."

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Comments

[sa]

the comments i wrote about this were denied,
and left me wondering about huffington.

one was this: colin powell and george tennant
need to come clean.

the other was this - many republicans have made
a lot of money off the iraq war and want to enjoy
their windfalls. they will never concede iraq was a "wrong" or bad war.

really, i just gave you a thumbnail,
and wonder why it spooked the moderators.
sometimes i wonder...

[larazon]

Try taking out the vowels on people's names.

[peacekitten]

ah, i see. posting in polish....­..

[lacitepq]

Scott McClellan is my new hero. Who would have though that of all the people in the Bush administration he would have been the one to come clean and tell it all

[SLCPunk]

Why?

Because he sat on evidence we all knew existed while he could've been doing something to stop these freaks? And then decided to cash in on it?

No hero in my book.

[YellowPanties]

They looked him in the eye and lied to him. They made him a patsy. Frankly, I'm surprised Scott hasn't had some "accident" by now to keep him from testifying under oath.

By coming out with his book now, McClellan is attempting to remove the stain from his hands. Yesh, he knows he was complicit in crimes now, but without his testimony (and hopefully some others'), the TRUTH will never be revealed.

McClellan is a PARIAH now because he believes in America more than the GOP or Bush or a Jesus-lovin' Iraq. He risks personal violence, opprobrium, and the long arm of a Bush vendetta.

Sounds kinda heroic to me.

[Bombalot]

When treacherous leaders leave a trail of deception, torture and criminal horror, like Bush, it is very hard for them to quit. You can see it all over Bush's face, and his wife's face as well. You can see it on the faces of those who are in triage mode now trying to make deals to save their murderous acts. But Bush won't be offered a deal - no one in Congress with the guts to suggest he step down and accept exile - and he probably would not be ready to make the deal. Bush and many of those close to him are drunk with denial and they think they have the media, which is about to fold like a sharp knife leaving many scared to death.

[Mingpeke]

The American people are long over due some accountablity. This administration has done what it wants, when it wants without oversight. 4000 dead soldiers, tens of thousands of wounded soldiers require answers to questions that need to be asked. We have a responsibilty to them if nothing else. We also need to make sure no other adminstration can get away with starting a war without cause or comprimising covert agents to extend their agenda or punish someone for telling the truth.

Hearings on these subjects are a duty. As a nation we have been sold a bill of goods that has cost us billions of dollars in addition to our dead and wounded. Along the way when someone questioned this we were told they were unpatriotic. A great deal of this is our fault for not standing up and saying enough. Now we must right that wrong and insist on hearings and testimony. We need to write to our elected officials and push for the truth. There are actually many subjects we should find the answers to as well as Valarie Plame. In the long run with a bit of investigation we could find that this is just the tip of the iceburg as far as the lies and coruption of this adminstration go. Grab a shovel its time to get the manure out of the barn!

[woodchips]

Please don't forget about the thousands and thousands of innocent Iraqis who have been killed and wounded as a result of this BS, or the millions who have been driven from their homes to live as refugees. The crimes of this administration go well beyond the damage to our constitution and prestige in the world. They are Crimes Against Humanity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_against_humanity

[Mingpeke]

You are correct I did forget the Iraqi people who have died as well as their country we laid waste to. Mc Cain seems to have his eye on Iran as the next country we can invade and destroy. The Arab world should be be very leery of us...

[LateDave]

Keep in mind that their defense will include "But, but, but ... Sadam ...!" and they will point out that he was a true, albeit mid-level, monster. He did more harm to the people of "Iraq" even than we have, and his methods were considerably more barbaric than ours. It is appropriate to anticipate this argument and develop a coherent and compelling reply.

Should we have driven Sadam from power by some means (which?), or left him to work his gruesome mischief? We protected the Kurds and the Marsh Arabs to a limited extent (no fly zones) throughout the HW and Clinton administrations.

Exactly why did Papa Boosh encourage uprisings and then do *nothing* while Sadam crushed them?

If not for the Contract On America, Clinton might have been able to do more to enable these folks to fight free of Sadam. Isolationism and avoiding nationbuilding are essential parts of a Repo mantra, but apparently only when Dems are in power.

[PierreLeClerke]

I watched Scott with Oberman last night. This mans road to redemption has transformed even his facial features from within. Take note of Scott in before and after shoots from the podium to the first releases and interviews through yesterdays interview with Kieth. The clear commitment towards truth radiates confidence never before witnessed in this mans presence.
Clearly this is not the Scott McClellan that the bushco knew. They never believed one of their own could break the grip of the power drunk cabal. I'm sure since the smear campaign has not been successful, the crew is now having trouble arranging Scott's accident, having been so close to his family for so long.
Dick will have to handle this cleanup for boy george.

[ConnieInCleveland]

Scott McClellan may be the 'patriot' we have been waiting for. Someone willing to speak 'Truth to Power'. The Right Wing 'talking heads' have done enough damage. It's time for 'patriotic Americans, Democrats and Republicans' to demand justice.

[Vinca]

To ConnieInCl­eveland:Am­ericans must DEMAND JUSTICE, EVERYONE SHOULD E-MAIL OR CALL THEIR CONGRESSMAN, THEIR CRIMES ARE TOO NUMEROUS TOO COUNT

[CEDobson]

As it stands, "orders" are implemented from the top down, not the other way around (ask any military person). G.B. knew of everything going on in the W.H. This is nothing new, just more flagrantly utilized under the current administration, and a fine line crossed from employing administrative power to criminal behavior. Do you think, for example, torture has not occurred at Guantanamo before? Do you truly believe government wire-tapping, search and seizure without a warrant is a first? Do you honestly believe propaganda has never been used by any other president?

G.B. and his administration is now under a microscope and every little thing scrutinized because his popularity has vanished (media formula). Do I believe this investigation will go anywhere? Never! Do I think a hearing will take place? Maybe, but only enough for our government to appease the people (because they think we are stupid) and then it will all go away, as it has several times before.

"We The People" have had the "wool pulled over our eyes" far too long, treated like idiots by our government, the media bought and paid for (most), and a lot of our government dishonest and greedy (our only saving grace - someone eventually talks). The cement needed to fix our democratic foundation should begin here - "orders" implemented from the bottom up until we have pulled every tentacled weed strangling America.

[ggmome]

Can Executive Priviledge be a factor in this case? The book says it all, and it passed through the censors of the White House, how can they further restrict his testimony?

[jmaster]

Watch and see. I am confident that half the lawyers in the Justice Dept have been working on this ever since McClellan agreed to testify - probably before. The WH censors screwed up - this didn't give it enough attention or maybe they didn't even think to go upstairs with it. And I bet David Addington's systolic BP is up to 4 digits by now. Now they have to figure out how to stop a voluntary witness from testifying about what may lead from WH-approved disclosures. That is way different from stonewalling compelled testimony from Rove, Miers, Rice or Gonzalez. So far all they had to do was hunker down in a tight defensive configuration, only going out of the bunker to carp about librul judges and witch hunts. Now they have to assert and make the case to prevent disclosure of information they've already claimed he doesn't have. The whole megilla is at stake for them. If Rove ever has to testify under oath, they know the game is over.

[boycottrightwingthings]

How can Karl Rove claim executive priviledge? He isn't the president.­... I suggest we jail Karl for contempt, and proceed with impeachment, so no other president EVER thinks that he can get away with what Bush looks like he is getting away with!

[kadene]

Americans, please explain. If President Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about sexual encounters, how can another President walk away Scot-free after being responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis and Americans? Will he be allowed to?

[BlueStateMan]

Who's moderating this site now... the Eagle Forum?

One can't post a THING other than what a prude might think is appropriate for an 8 year old.

[SaviourMachine]

Seven was supposed to be the age of reason,BSM­...however the m-o-d s-q-a-u-d here @ hr puff 'n stuff is pure Hal/2001 Space Odyssey.

[AdLib]

Think of it as a challenge. Software filtering is rule based so just figure out the rules and you can say what you want.

It is such an unsophisticated and heavy-handed way of "moderating'", blacklisting common political words, hopefully they'll see the growing criticism as constructive and strip this ridiculous approach out. Obviously, we all want the same thing which benefits everyone, the frequent use of this blog to freely express ourselves.

Come on HuffPo, we're on the same side, loosen the screws and let a bit more air in here so it's more comfortable and make the experience more fruitful for all of us.

[BlueStateMan]

True, but that doesn't account for the wholesale SCRUBBING of post that "some of us" might find obnoxious.

(Besides, some of my BEST jokes are being scrubbed with them).

[lizr]

I know - I find this childish control trip to be extremely annoying..­.!

[TheRealDude]

I'm starting a fund to hire a hooker for this guy.
Good deeds need rewarding.

[BlueStateMan]

Reduce his sentence, then.

[dotmafia]

"But I don't think that you had a bunch of people sitting around a room planning and plotting in a sinister way." Scott McClellan, June 9 2008

Oh really Scott?!

The PNAC, Project for a New America Century, exerted strong influence on high-level U.S. government officials in the administration of U.S President George W. Bush and strongly affected the Bush administration's development of military and foreign policies, especially involving national security and the Iraq War.

The PNAC's January 16, 1998 letter to President Clinton, urging him to embrace a plan for "the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime from power," and the large number of members of PNAC appointed to the Bush administration is evidence that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a foregone conclusion.

The Downing Street Memo recorded the head of MI6 as expressing the view following his visit to Washington that "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." It quoted Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as saying it was clear that Bush had "made up his mind" to take military action but that "the case was thin", and the Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith warning that justifying the invasion on legal grounds would be difficult.

The Office of Special Plans lied and manipulated intelligence to further its agenda of removing Saddam. It's a group of ideologues with pre-determined notions of truth and reality.

[dotmafia]

Last, but not least, there's the Cheney Energy Task Force.

Most of the activities of the Energy Task Force had not been disclosed to the public, even though Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests (since 19 April 2001) have sought to gain access to its materials.

On 5 March 2002 the US Government was ordered to make a full disclosure; this has not happened, pending appeal. In the Summer of 2003 a partial disclosure of these materials was made by the Commerce Department. This resulted in the release of documents, maps, and charts, dated March 2001, of Iraq's, Saudi Arabia's and United Arab Emirates' oil fields, pipelines, refineries, tanker terminals and development projects.

On July 18, 2007, the Washington Post reported the names of those involved in the Task Force, including at least 40 meetings with interest groups, most of them from energy-producing industries.

No bunch of people sitting in a room planning and plotting Scott?

[1differentdrummer]

Rule by junta.

[azyuwish]

You are so right dotmafia.

KO tried to make Scott connect the dots....bu­t he still wants to "make nice" and leave wiggle room. They have a Stanford graduate (Rice) and energy task force leader (cheney) other and sundry supposedly grown up and educated people at the top and NONE of them are pursuing a strategy of exaggeration, obfuscation, outright lying as a "plot"?? These people were unaware of what they were doing, it was just the "permanent campaign" atmosphere?? I'm already hating that phrase, it covers so much. In this regard, McClellan is STILL covering for those bastards.

[continental]

And you'll notice, not one environmentalist was invited.

[DannyEastVillage]

give him some more time among progressives. he will. he's used to a certain culture among the powerful--people like Cheney and Rove. Give Scott some time to learn a little more about decency and he'll come around. give him time.

[Bushwillresign]

You need to make a list of all people that bush used to staff his admin. Make sure to put where they came from and what they did. Remember in the old west when some cattle baron would have a plan to take over all the ranches that had water and he would hire gunslingers to help with the plan. It didn't take long for people to figure out that an honest rancher would hire ranch hands and not hired guns. What is blackwater anyway? Bush hired way to many PNAC people to have an honest agenda.

[EvgenyLibek]

I am disappointed in Olberman.
He missed ANOTHER opportunity (which was already missed by Russert, Mathews, and Olberman -- and what other news organization is going to cover real news?) to question Scott McClellan about Bush's impromptu (read: completely scripted) conversation with the troops (Oct 13, 2005).

Failed to question Scott about his role in what Olberman called "perhaps the most contentious White House press briefing in 31 years." (see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9695509/).

A briefing that definitely stretched the truth (far beyond Valerie Plame), and relates directly to Bush's campaign to distort the reality of the Iraq war.

Something is very wrong when NO media will question Scott on this matter (not ABC, not Charlie Rose, not CBS, not CNN, not even MSNBC -- oh, and certainly not the body linguists at FOX).

HuffPo had only one story on this matter, but NO video link -- and strangely, all the stories read the same way (look for the omnipresent phrase "And so it went.").

Must I depend on CSPAN (read: US Congress) to see the important questions asked?
Or will they neglect this too?

[BlueStateMan]

If McClellan wasn't actually there, it'd just be hearsay.

[lizr]

I personally don't expect much from Charlie Rose... he often seems to be following some kind of murky drummer of his own. Would not be surprised to hear he was CIA connected or like that.

[StarkRavingNakedEmperor]

I sure hope Obama dispatches detachments of his personal security force to protect both McClellan & Kucinich! Boy, this is really starting to get good! It feels like the America of the 60s and 70s is back--the Kennedy Era of hope, the Watergate Hearings--when the bad guys in our government were routed out and had to pay for their crimes. Happy days are here again!

[lizr]

Excellent point!! Please Obama protect these two from the Bush Crime Family.

[BarryChamplain]

Somebody care to tell us why Dennis Kucinich's 35 articles of impeachment against the president of the United States, delivered last night on the floor of Congress, is not a banner news headline?

I sort of asked this question elsewhere earlier, and whaddya know... my comment never made the "cut".



I'll gladly and humbly forego my timeless prose being published here if you, oh, gee, I dunno, say, *REPORT THE DAMN NEWS*?

[BlueStateMan]

Hufffy has devolved into a tabloid.

The story isn't prurient enough.

[BarryChamplain]

BlueStateMan:

I understand Congressman Kucinich delivered the indictments, wearing bondage leather.


There ya go! :-)