Are Scott McClellan's soon to be published words (already leaked by his publisher) going to be the beginning of the end for the president? If they are true, they should be. Here is what he said, according to the New York Times:
In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, McClellan recounts the 2003 news conference in which he told reporters that aides Karl Rove and I. Lewis ''Scooter'' Libby were ''not involved'' in the leak involving operative Valerie Plame.
''There was one problem. It was not true,'' McClellan writes, according to a brief excerpt released Tuesday. ''I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself.''
The president promised, way back in 2003, that anyone in his administration who took part in the leak of Plame's name would be fired. He neglected to mention that, according to McClellan, he was one of those people. And needless to say, he didn't fire himself. Instead, he fired no one, stonewalled the press and the federal prosecutor in charge of the case, and lied through his teeth.
The American people should not have to learn the details of this offense on the website of a book publisher. It is not the responsibility of that publisher (who, after all, is just trying to sell books before Bush is out of office and McClellan is just another Republican flack out of a job) to tell us the truth. That responsibility lies with this administration, the people that committed the offense to begin with.
That it has taken so long to find out the truth is a sad reflection on our democracy. Congress must act! The judiciary committees should hold hearings immediately, subpoena McClellan, and demand that he testify under oath about the betrayal of Valerie Plame's identity.
If what he says is true (and after his willingness to lie to the press, who knows...) it will call into question the legitimacy of the entire administration. And we may see a changing of the guard at the White House sooner than expected.
I hereby notify all candidates running for national office in Maine
that I am undertaking a pledge
on your behalf: beginning today, now the day after Thanksgiving, I
pledge this:
I will forswear products bought for consumption nor ingested as food
beginning today, the day to
show solidarity with all those others who are taking a stand on
impeachment.
Furthermore, on your behalf and in your names, I will not purchase
store boughts goods or consume
food until I receive word that one of you stands with me on impeachment
and on calling for Tom
Allen to sign onto HR 333 for impeachment of Vice President Cheney for
his crimes.
I take this pledge with full knowledge and deliberate intent to force
you to make a conscious
choice and to take a stand visible to the citizens of Maine that you
will not stand for any more
crimes from this Administration.
Further, I call on all those others who receive this message to pass it
along to all you can, to
show solidarity with this impeachment support cause and to urge those
running for national office
in Maine to join my fight for impeachment by taking a definitive stand
and publicly calling on Tom
Allen to do the same and to sign the resolution.
I will post daily briefings on my blog:
http://lauriedobson.blogspot.com
signed,
Laurie Dobson
US Senate Candidate
Kennebunkport, Maine
Nov. 23, 2007
Friday, 12:40 am
Candidates currently declared for US office:
Dobson, Allen, Collins: Senate
Pingree, Lawrence, Brennan, Cote, Strimling: Congress
That's why I give this Congress and Senate an F-.
They're impident.
He might think that an appearance before Congress would boost his book sales. And when he sits before the Commitees he can lie, or say he doesn't remember, or talk for a while without answering the question (remember, he's a professional at this).
In what world would anyone with a brain believe him?
I've been writing to my representatives both in the area of my college and of my hometown to start acting in regards to this awful administration. I've written about six times now.
I hope something happens.
It's a safe bet, of course, that McClellan *does* have useful, pertinent testimony, even if his book merely states the obvious but pretends he did it "unknowingly."
Impeachment saves lives.
Teasing puns are of much more serious consequence than outing a CIA agent or committing treason. Good God Almighty, can't you people get your priorities straight?!
Raises the possibility that Mclellan knows some Very Bad Things are coming down the line and wants to start immunizing himself.
WTF is going on in this country? Why is it we're putting up with this? Where is the media? Where are our elected officials? I think it's time to take to the streets.