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June 9th,
2008 - McClellan to Testify Before House in CIA Leak Case |
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McClellan to Testify
Before House in CIA Leak Case By Laurie Kellman Associated Press June 9, 2008 Washington - President
Bush's former spokesman, Scott McClellan, will testify before a House
committee next week about whether Vice President Dick Cheney ordered him to
make misleading public statements about the leaking of CIA agent Valerie
Plame's identity. McClellan will testify
publicly and under oath before the House Judiciary Committee on June 20 about
the White House's role in the leak and its response, his attorneys, Michael
and Jane Tigar, said on Monday. In his new book, "What
Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of
Deception," McClellan said he was misled by others, possibly including
Cheney, about the role of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in the leak.
McClellan has said publicly that Bush and Cheney "directed me to go out
there and exonerate Scooter Libby." The statements prompted
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., to invite McClellan
to the hearing "concerning reported attempts to cover up the involvement
of White House officials in the leak of" Plame's identity. Plame's CIA identity was
leaked to the news media by several top Bush administration officials in
2003, including Libby and former top White House political adviser Karl Rove.
Last July, Bush commuted Libby's 2 1/2-year sentence, sparing him from
serving any prison time after being convicted of perjury, obstructing justice
and lying to the FBI. House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., also is seeking
more FBI documents about the leak in part because of McClellan's description
of the way he was instructed to respond to questions on the matter. At Libby's trial, witnesses
testified that Cheney, Libby and other Bush administration officials mounted
a campaign to counter criticism of the Iraq war by Plame's husband, Joseph
Wilson. Cheney's spokeswoman, Cathie Martin, testified that Cheney personally
wrote out statements and talking points for Libby and other aides to give to
reporters to rebut Wilson's allegations. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jh7ElHY9QqjAH63ueSVISAEdH4kQD916PKF00 |