McClellan Stonewalls

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Despite the fact that the questions about the Rove/Plame affair at the last three days of White House Press conferences are actually on a serious matter, they still make for hilarious reading. Press Secretary Scott McClellan has stonewalled virtually every question the press corps has thrown at him with his answer that the White House refuses to comment on the ongoing investigation at the request of the special prosecutor.

Which, frankly, is bullshit because: 1) the White House was happy to comment on the ongoing investigation when the information of the day was exculpatory rather than incriminating; 2) a good number of questions that have been shot down with this defense are actually not ‘related to the investigation’ in any legal sense of the words; and 3) the special prosecutor never asked the White House to clam up to begin with.

But you’ve got to admire the press for nonetheless trying to get their quote. They’ve tried forcing McClellan to defend past statements. They’ve asked about McClellan’s previous willingness to answer ‘related questions.’ They’ve asked the simple, deadly, question: does the president think Rove did something wrong? Does the President stand by his statement that anyone who he found was involved in the leak would be shown the door? They’ve asked about the President and the First Lady’s personal feelings for their old buddy Karl, and whether they are “at this point, ebbing or flowing.” It’s all so creative. But as a wise man once said, you don’t have take my word for it:

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, this is a creative way to come out to the same kind of questions.

Q: You’re right, it is, and I want an answer.

At least he’s impressed by his adversaries. Let’s hope their tenacity proves worthy of his admiration as well.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate