Text 1948, 745 rader
Skriven 2006-01-03 23:33:54 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0601031) for Tue, 2006 Jan 3
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Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 3, 2006

Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
James S. Brady Briefing Room

Press Briefing
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12:39 P.M. EST

MR. MCCLELLAN: Good afternoon everyone, and welcome back; Happy New Year. I
want to begin with just an update on the situation in Upshur County, West
Virginia, and the coal miners who have been trapped there.

The President continues to be kept informed about the situation. He was
briefed this morning. He has reached out to the governor, as well. We are
praying and hoping for the best. The miners and their families are in our
thoughts and prayers. The federal government is actively helping in the
rescue. The Mine Safety and Health Administration has rescue and safety
specialists who are on site working with the rescue teams. They have an
emergency operations mobile command center on site. There is a robot that
they have on site that has been helping with the rescue efforts. They
continue to monitor gas samples to determine the safety of sending in the
rescue teams to help. And we continue to keep the miners and their families
in our thoughts and prayers.

Secondly, I'd like to just update on the President's schedule today. The
President this afternoon looks forward to meeting with around 20 U.S.
Attorneys from across the United States. He will be hearing from these U.S.
Attorneys about how they have successfully used the vital tools in the
Patriot Act to help disrupt plots and break up terrorist cells. These U.S.
Attorneys have used these vital tools to help stop the terrorists here at
home. And the President looks forward to hearing from them and talking
about the importance of getting this reauthorized and renewed.

A majority of the House and Senate support reauthorization of the Patriot
Act. These are vital tools in the war on terrorism here at home. They help
us to connect the dots and prevent attacks from happening. We know that the
terrorists are sophisticated and determined. They want to strike us again
and inflict even greater damage than they did on September 11th, and it's
important that Congress get this Patriot Act reauthorized. The President
will continue working with members to see that that happens.

And with that, I will be glad to go to your questions.

Q Scott, I'd like to begin on the ongoing debate over the surveillance.
James Comey, who was then Acting Attorney General, reportedly opposed the
continuation of the eavesdropping program in 2004, because he felt that it
needed a kind of audit after it had been in place for a couple of years.
And one of the criticisms leveled at the President is that whatever powers
he deemed necessary to employ after 9/11, that after a couple of years
since the attacks, he never felt it was appropriate to reexamine some of
these issues, bring Congress into the debate at all.

Do you think that's a fair criticism, that whatever presidential powers he
may believe existed after 9/11, that it's appropriate as time moves on to
reexamine the tactics employed by the administration?

MR. McCLELLAN: They are. They are carefully reviewed on a regular basis by
the highest officials within the Department of Justice, by the White House
Counsel's Office, by the National Security Agency. And Congress has been
briefed on the intelligence activities that we're engaged in under this
authorization. This is a vital tool in our efforts to save lives and
prevent attacks from happening. It is very limited in nature. We are a
nation that is at war. The President is the Commander-in-Chief, and after
the attacks of September 11th, he made a very firm commitment to the
American people that he was going to do everything within his power to
prevent attacks from happening and save lives. And that's exactly what we
have been doing.

Q First of all, all of those checks that you mentioned are not checks; it's
all within the executive branch. There's no check from another part of the
government.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's in the legislative branch, as well.

Q Well, but you say you briefed members of Congress. What you did is you
pulled them into a room and said, this is what's happening, now thanks and
don't tell anybody. I mean, that's not --

MR. McCLELLAN: More than a dozen times on the activities conducted under
this authorization.

Q But wait a minute. Even if they said it's a bad idea, what were you going
to do, say, okay, well, we'll take that under advisement.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that, clearly, the American people strongly support
the efforts that we're undertaking to save their lives.

Q But you don't know that, and I'm not asserting whether that's the case or
not.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there actually was a poll last week that
showed more than the 60 percent of the American people support --

Q Oh, now you embrace polls. Okay, I'll tell -- I'll note that for the
record. (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: -- more than 60 percent of the American people support --

Q You may be right, but --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me just finish, and then I'll come to you -- support the
actions that the President is taking to prevent attacks from happening in
the first place. That's what this President is committed to doing. This is
about saving lives. We face a dangerous and determined enemy, an enemy that
wants to inflict even greater damage than they did on September 11th here
at home. And we've got to use every lawful tool at our disposal to help
save lives. Now, the President --

Q But the question of legality is an issue here, though.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President talked about that the other day. He has
clear authority under our Constitution. We provided the legal analysis to
members of Congress, and that's available to you all, as well. The Justice
Department has talked about the legal analysis that justifies the use of
this tool to help us and --

Q Well, perhaps the judicial branch will make a determination about that.

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me finish, because this is about detecting and
preventing attacks. It's very limited in nature.

Q I know that. I mean, you're asserting something that's lawful that you're
not in a position to --

MR. McCLELLAN: But it's also -- you asked your question, let me respond.
This is important.

Q I know, but you're --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, it's important, because what we're talking about is
looking at international calls involving known al Qaeda members or
affiliated organizations. That's what we're talking about here. And you bet
the American people, I think, want us to know what those calls are about,
because those calls go directly to protecting their lives.

Q A number of members of Congress do not agree that the President has the
authority to do what he did in that case.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, previous administrations have cited similar authority.

Q And they want to have hearings, and those hearings are supported by many
on both sides, including the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, because
they don't believe that this is within the scope of the President's
authority.

MR. McCLELLAN: And what's your question?

Q And my question is, does the White House take this into account, will it
try to talk to them, will it participate in the hearings?

MR. McCLELLAN: Like I said, and the President has said we've briefed
members of Congress on more than a dozen occasions.

Q But that's not what they're talking about.

MR. McCLELLAN: And in terms of discussions about this, the President talked
about this at his end-of-the-year news conference. We shouldn't be talking
about intelligence activities, particularly in a time of war, in a public
way. This is a highly classified authorization --

Q Not anymore. I mean, it's public now.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, it still is. It still is highly classified. The
President has talked in a very limited way about the nature of this
authorization and what it's designed to do, and how it's limited. And so we
will continue to talk with members of Congress --

Q Will you cooperate with a congressional hearing?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- the Attorney General has been talking to additional
members of Congress about this authorization, so that they do understand
why this tool is so vital in our efforts to prevail in the global war on
terrorism.

Q But will you cooperate with a hearing?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I'm not going to get into talking about ruling things
in or out from this podium. We'll talk with members of Congress and make
sure that they're briefed and kept informed, as we have been.

Q Has the President signed any other orders that affect the daily lives of
Americans, intruding on their privacy, and so forth, that are still secret?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President believes we must act in a way that protects
our liberties and save lives, and that's what we are committed to doing.

Q Does he believe in following the law --

MR. McCLELLAN: The Patriot Act is a law that meets both those commitments
and it is --

Q Has he signed any other executive orders that intrude on the lives of
Americans?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, if you're asking me talk about classified programs, I
can't do that; you know that I'm prohibited from doing that. But --

Q But not yet leaked.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, the President will do everything within his lawful power
to save lives and prevent attacks from happening. And that's what we're
doing under this NSA authorization.

Q Within the law?

MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely.

Q Scott, Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff has pleaded guilty to fraud and
corruption and tax evasion here in the federal court in Washington. Already
the DNC has put out a statement essentially saying that this is another
example of what they are calling the "culture of corruption and abuse of
power" that has been the hallmarks of the Bush administration. Any
response?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I've seen press reports that indicate that he has --
he and his clients have given to both Democrats and Republicans. So that's
the first thing that I would say.

Secondly, I'm not sure if he's actually entered a plea at this point, but
the wrongdoing that he apparently now is acknowledging he was involved in
is outrageous. And if he broke laws, he needs to be held to account and he
needs to be punished. And beyond that, I think we'd just be speculating
about things at this point, and I'm not going to engage in speculation.

Go ahead, April.

Q Scott, back on the Patriot Act, and on --

MR. McCLELLAN: She wore University of Texas colors in order to get called
on. (Laughter.)

Q I get called on anyway. (Laughter.) Anyway, going back to the
surveillance and the Patriot Act issue, people are concerned about their
civil liberties. And we've heard the President say that he is doing
everything he can in his power to protect civil liberties of the average
Americans who could wind up coming into play under surveillance in the NSA
program, as well as the Patriot Act. Can you detail how the civil liberties
are being protected of average Americans?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think people are concerned about America being attacked
again by a deadly and dangerous enemy. We saw what happened on September
11th, and this President is going to do everything within his power to help
us connect the dots and disrupt plots and break up terrorist cells. The
Patriot Act has helped us in a number of instances break up terrorist
cells. Just to mention a few: the Portland Seven, the Lackawanna Six, the
Virginia Jihad. Those are three specific examples where people have been
brought to justice and prosecuted and sentenced to prison time. These were
terrorists that were seeking to do harm to the American people.

As we engage in this war on terrorism, we must also be mindful of
protecting people's civil liberties. And that's why the Congress, as they
took up discussion of the Patriot Act and went to conference committee,
they took into consideration these issues. And they looked at the Patriot
Act. They looked at ways that it can be strengthened and improved, and they
took steps to do that. Then what we saw at the end of the last session was
that you had the Minority Leader, the Senate Democratic Minority Leader
boast to political supporters about killing the Patriot Act. They were
engaging in obstructionist tactics to try to kill the Patriot Act, as they
said in their own words. He boasted to political supporters that Senate
Democrats had killed the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act is something that the
American people recognize helps us to save lives and prevent attacks from
happening. I think they understand the importance of the actions that we're
taking.

And in that Act, it provides important safeguards and oversight to address
these civil liberty issues. And it took steps to improve upon that in the
agreement that was reached, and now Democrats are obstructing and holding
that up from being approved.

Q But, Scott, again, the people who are against the surveillance, as well
as the Patriot Act are citing --

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think people, if they're not talking to people
overseas that are al Qaeda members or related to terrorist organizations,
they have to worry. And I think the American people understand that.

Q Because again, the Patriot Act, you could just be an innocent person and
have a conversation on the street with someone --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, remember the inspector general more than six times at
the Department of Justice has looked into this and found no abuse under the
Patriot Act.

Q Scott, first of all, happy New Year to you and the President and the
First Lady, and my colleagues here in the White House.

My question is that ever since this immigration bill in the Congress, which
President supported --- I'm not talking about the illegal immigrants, I'm
talking about legal immigrants in this country -- victims of greedy
lawyers, that they are still waiting and hoping that New Year will bring
some new rights for them as far as President and the Congress is concerned.
Where those bills are now, as far as immigrants? They are stuck in legal --

MR. McCLELLAN: It's a priority for the President. The House has moved
forward on some legislation. The Senate is committed to moving forward on
comprehensive immigration reform. The President believes we need to
continue to build upon the steps we've taken to strengthen our borders and
to improve interior enforcement of immigration laws, as well as move
forward on a temporary worker program. That's the way that we will help fix
our immigration system. It's a broken system, and the President has
outlined a very clear set of principles for moving forward. And we look
forward to working with Congress and getting this done.

Martha, go ahead.

Q Scott, do you believe the President has the legal authority and the power
to tap into phone calls or email communications between two Americans on
United States soil without a warrant?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the program that we're talking about here in the NSA
authorization is relating to one party being outside of the United States.
So one component of that has to be international --

Q I understand that. But you say, will do anything in his power to protect
Americans.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- in nature. And I haven't talked to lawyers about that
specific issue. There is authorizations --

Q So you're not sure whether he has the legal authority to do that, or
could?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- under the Patriot Act that the President can take, and we
are making use of those authorities to help break up cells and save lives.
And we will continue to do so. The President will continue to do everything
within his lawful power to protect the American people. I just don't have
any more --

Q So you're not sure whether he has the power to do that or would use that?

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't heard any discussion of that.

Q Can we go on to Iran? Iran said today that they're resuming research and
development into nuclear fuel production. Do you know anything more about
that? Does that concern you?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've expressed our views on the matter very clearly.
And we continue to support the European 3's efforts to resolve this in a
peaceful and diplomatic way. We've made our views very clear, that Iran
needs to abide by the Paris agreement and its international obligations.
They need to come clean and cooperate fully with the International Atomic
Energy Agency.

Q Does this announcement increase your concern?

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't seen the latest announcement that they've made. I
haven't looked into that specific matter. But --

Q They just say they're resuming research into nuclear fuel production.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- they made some agreements and they need to abide by those
agreements and act in a good faith way in the negotiations.

Q Scott, last year in the State of the Union, the President mentioned tax
reform and Social Security reform as his top two priorities. This morning
you mentioned responding to Katrina and keeping the economy strong, but
notably absent was any mention of either Social Security, tax reform. And I
just wondered, does the administration in all likelihood expect either of
these not to be addressed until --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, tax reform remains a priority. We have not received
the report from the Secretary of the Treasury yet, in terms of the
recommendations that he will be making to the President. In terms of the
President's 2006 agenda, the President has made it very clear that he's
going to continue working to build lasting peace abroad and extend
prosperity at home. The President wants to continue working to lay the
foundations of peace for generations to come. And he also wants to continue
acting to keep our economy strong here at home. And that means making the
tax relief permanent. It means moving forward to make sure that workers
have the skills they need to fill the jobs of the 21st century. It means
continuing to move forward and open markets so that American products and
producers can compete overseas and have more opportunity to sell their
products abroad. That's the way we keep our economy growing strong. And in
terms of Social Security, the President made it very clear he's never going
to quit trying to save and strengthen Social Security. It's important, and
he's talked about the reasons why.

But in terms of the 2006 agenda, I think you're going to hear the President
talking more about it in the coming weeks leading up to the State of the
Union and after the State of the Union, when he talks more about the agenda
for 2006. We've got some important priorities that we need to get done. We
recognize it's an election year, but we were elected to get things done,
and the President is going to continue pushing to act on those priorities
that he cares most about.

Q Would immigration reform trump Social Security and tax reform now --

MR. McCLELLAN: Immigration reform is a priority. The President would like
to see it get done this year.

Q Scott, welcome back, hope you missed us. Two international ones, North
Korea and Iraq. First of all, what's going on with North Korea? Their
statements are increasingly irrational and militant. Do you really think
diplomacy can work with such an irrational regime?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there was an agreement that was reached, an agreement
on a set of principles, at the last round of talks. We want to see progress
made on moving forward on the principles that were agreed to. All five
parties to the talks have made it very clear to North Korea that they need
to abandon their nuclear weapons ambitions, and dismantle their programs.
So we're continuing to work through the six-party talks to make that
happen.

Q They want the U.S. to lift sanctions against them. Any thoughts on that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think they're talking about some sanctions that were
imposed by the Treasury Department, if I recall correctly. And that is a
matter of protecting our national interest and combating their illicit
activities that they are engaged in, the regime in North Korea. It is not a
subject to negotiation. We are going to continue to take action to stop
them from engaging in illicit activities. We've made very clear what the
concerns are when it comes to those activities, whether it's counterfeiting
U.S. money, engaging in drugs or proliferation of weapons technology.

And in terms of the six-party talks, I think that this latest statement by
the regime in North Korea is yet another in a long list of pretext for
delay. The other parties to the talks have made clear to North Korea that
they expect North Korea to make good on the agreed to statement, and to
give up its nuclear weapons and programs promptly and verifiably.

Q Also on Iraqi reconstruction, can you confirm the United States is not
going to ask for any more funds to reconstruct --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the budget process is ongoing at this point. We are
firmly committed to continuing to help the Iraqi people build a lasting
democracy and help them with reconstruction. The international community
has important responsibilities to meet, as well. We have provided a
significant amount to help them move forward on the reconstruction. There's
progress that's being made on that. We've seen that the Iraqi people are
determined to build a lasting democracy with the successful elections that
took place just last month. And we will continue to stand with them, and
the international community needs to, as well. And we are moving forward on
the budget process at this point. We'll have more to say once that process
is complete.

Go ahead, Les.

Q Scott, I have a two-part. World New Daily reports that Navy Chaplain
Gordon Klingenschmitt has now gone without food for two weeks in his
protest of the Navy's ordering him not to mention Jesus in public prayer,
and he's hoping very much for an executive order from the President. My
question, how in the world can the President, as a devout Christian, allow
the Navy, of which he is Commander-in-Chief, to engage in this suppression
of the First Amendment's guarantee of the free exercise of religion?

MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things. One, someone brought this question up
earlier. I haven't had a chance to check into it fully. I will check into
fully, so let me take your question. But I think this is a matter probably
best addressed to the Department of Defense. But let me take a look into
this specific matter.

Q In a full-page ad in The New York Times, the ACLU quotes the President on
April the 20th of 2004 as saying, "When we're talking about chasing down
terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so." And
my question: Did the President say that, on that date? And what is your
reaction to the ACLU charging that the President, "lied to the American
people and broke the law"?

MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things. I addressed this question previously.
The President addressed this question again just the other day. That speech
was on the Patriot Act, and the President was talking about roving wire
taps in the context of the Patriot Act, so we've already addressed that.

The ACLU -- this is one of the special interest groups that Democrats in
the Senate are trying to appease because they want to weaken and undermine
the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act is vital to saving lives, and the
President is going to hear about how the Patriot Act has helped save lives.
It has also met an important commitment to protect people's civil
liberties.

Q Does he --

MR. McCLELLAN: And that's why it's important that it be re-authorized. And
Democrats need to set aside politics -- they're putting politics above our
nation's security and they need to move forward in the Senate and let it be
re-authorized.

Q Doesn't he think the ACLU is very irresponsible?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think some of the statements that they make -- that
they are making sure are.

Q Scott, the President is making another speech on the economy later this
week, and yet, the bond market is showing some signals now that a recession
is on the horizon. Is the market just wrong in this case?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think -- you know, most independent economists would say
that they expect continued strong economic growth. Our economy continues to
grow very strongly. We have had more -- nearly 4.5 million jobs created
since May of 2003. The unemployment rate is down to 5 percent, well below
the averages of the '70s, '80s and '90s. We're seeing home ownership at
record levels. Consumer confidence -- just last week, the latest December
numbers came out, consumer confidence is up. The economy continues to grow
strong because of the policies that we put in place. But we must continue
to act and move forward on pro-growth policies that will keep our economy
growing strong.

It's because of the actions that we have taken, and because of the
innovation and ingenuity of American workers that our economy is the envy
of the world. And we must continue to build upon that great progress that
we've made. And I think if you look at any of the forecasts, they all show
continued growth in the year ahead.

Q Scott, tomorrow's Iraq briefing and remarks, what's -- anything in
particular that we should be looking for?

MR. McCLELLAN: Sure, let me give you a little bit of a preview of that. The
President will be participating in a briefing at the Pentagon tomorrow with
Secretary Rumsfeld and General Pace and others. This will be an opportunity
for the President to get an operational update on Iraq and Afghanistan, and
the broader war on terrorism. I expect they'll discuss the work ahead in
2006. There's much progress that we have made in 2005, but there is much
work to get done in the year ahead. And I expect they'll talk about the
progress we're making in our plan for victory in Iraq.

And there's still going to be tests and sacrifices ahead, but we are making
important progress. The successful elections were an example of the
progress being made. I expect they'll talk about the progress that's been
made in Afghanistan, as well. NATO has been taking on a larger role, and
the capability of the Afghan forces there is growing, as well. And so that
allows us to reduce our force levels and focus more on counterterrorist
operations within Afghanistan and along the border region, as well. So I
expect that those -- operational update is the way I would describe it.

Q Is he going to talk about troop levels in Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there was an announcement made just before the
holidays about some of the troop levels being reduced, and as the President
has made it clear that those decisions will be made based on the
recommendations of our commanders on the ground, specifically General
Casey. He will have everything he needs to complete the mission, and the
decisions on troop levels will be based on the conditions on the ground.

Q Is this going to be like others, where Casey and some of the others come
in by video conference?

MR. McCLELLAN: I do expect General Casey and probably General Abizaid and
some others will be on via video conference.

Q Scott, you said that the President will continue to do everything within
his lawful power. What does the President view is the extent or the limit
to that lawful power? I mean, for example, would he consider it within his
lawful power --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not going to try to play lawyer from this podium. I
think --

Q Neither am I.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- I'll leave it to the legal experts to talk about that.
But the President is committed to doing everything within our Constitution
and our laws to prevent attacks from happening and save lives. That's what
he has made very clear, and he will continue to do that. We are fortunate
that we have not been attacked again since September 11th here at home. We
know that the enemy wants to strike us again. And that's why we must
continue to stay on the offensive abroad; that's why we must continue to
seek to gather important intelligence so that we can connect the dots and
disrupt their efforts. And that's what we have done, and that's what we
will continue to do.

It's because of the actions of our law enforcement and intelligence
community, because of the tools we have in place, that we are stopping them
from attacking us again. And we must continue to act. We know that they
changed tactics. They are sophisticated, they're deadly. When they see our
play book on page one, we know that they take that into account and they
adapt and change, and we must be mindful of that. When our intelligence
activities are talked about openly and publicly, particularly in a time of
war, it is harmful to our nation's security. You don't see al Qaeda talking
about their tactics and activities in public.

Q Scott, may I follow up on that for a moment?

MR. McCLELLAN: You've had your question, let me go to the back. I'll try to
come --

Q I want to follow up --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I'll try to -- I'll try to come back to you, Paula.

Q I have a follow-up, Scott.

MR. McCLELLAN: Wait, Victoria has a follow up. Let's have some order.
Sometimes David gets the room out of order. That's okay.

Q May I ask why so many people in the front row have so many follow ups?

Q You specified --

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead. You may, when I come to you.

Q You specified a couple of minutes ago that the warrant-less wiretaps
involved international calls. So would the President view it, then, within
his lawful power to give permission for warrant-less wiretaps for domestic
calls between Americans --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- anything like that discussed. That question was asked
earlier.

Go ahead.

There are authorities under the Patriot Act. Go ahead.

Q A moment ago you said that opponents of certain sections of the Patriot
Act --

MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, why they got follow ups? Because they were important
questions, that's why they got follow ups. Now you have an important
question, so go ahead.

Q Thank you.

Q Scott --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, Paula is going.

Q A moment ago you said that opponents of certain sections of the Patriot
Act are putting politics over national security. But my understanding is
that those that are opposed to certain sections, and possibly the amendment
of this Act, are concerned about unchecked invasions of privacy, because
certain warrant-less surveillances were done without having any contact
whatsoever within 72 hours of the secret court that was established by law.
And that is what my understanding is --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think they're just engaging in politics.

Q My understanding is, they're concern is that the administration did not
abide by existing law by not contacting this secret court within 72 hours
as required by law.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there is oversight in place. And as I pointed out, the
Inspector General has looked into this and has found nothing to
substantiate any allegations of abuse.

Q The issue is not oversight, it's abiding by the law, which requires this
administration to contact the Supreme Court within 72 hours of a
warrant-less surveillance. And I would like to know --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's one of the issues that's been addressed in the
negotiations and in the discussion as the conference committee was moving
forward. So I reject your characterization.

Q I would like to know why you're depicting this as politics --

MR. McCLELLAN: Because that's what it is. Because we heard the Senate
Democratic leader boast to his political supporters that Senate Democrats
had "killed" the Patriot Act. Those were his words, not my words. Those
were his words, because they're beholden to special interests. They want to
undermine and weaken the Patriot Act. And the Patriot Act has been a vital
tool to saving lives. And that's why the President looks forward to meeting
with these U.S. Attorneys and hearing about how they have used the tools
within the Patriot Act to disrupt plots and break up terrorist cells. And I
cited three specific examples.

Q What special interests?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the ACLU was one that was mentioned earlier.

Q The Democrats are beholden to the ACLU and opposition --

MR. McCLELLAN: Some.

Q The concerns about the Patriot Act, you say -- you would say, then, are
-- the four major concerns which have received bipartisan support are all
--

MR. McCLELLAN: Wait, wait, wait, what's received bipartisan support is the
agreement that was reached by the conference committee -- strong,
overwhelming bipartisan support in the House, where 44 Democrats voted for
it. And it enjoys majority, bipartisan support in the United States Senate,
as well. So it's clear that what Senate Democrats have done is engaged in
obstructionist tactics based on the wishes of certain special interests.

Q There were also Republicans who declined to vote cloture. So the concerns
about the Patriot Act do have small bipartisan support. Those concerns, you
say, are an attempt to --

MR. McCLELLAN: It's Senate Democrats that have been obstructing --

Q -- to appease the ACLU?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's the Senate Democrats that have been obstructing it.

Q As Iraq moves forward, does the United States feel that naming Ahmed
Chalabi as the oil minister is the right person for that job, given his
credibility problems? His offices were raided --

MR. McCLELLAN: It's not up to the United States; it's up to the Iraqi
people to make those decisions, and it's up to their government that is
elected by the Iraqi people to make those decisions.

Q Is the White House pleased with that announcement that he will be the oil
minister?

MR. McCLELLAN: We're pleased that Iraq is moving forward on democracy and
building the foundations of peace for generations to come. It's vital to
our national security interests that we succeed in Iraq, because it will
help transform a dangerous region of the world.

Q One very quickly. Did the President support the construction of a fence
on the Mexican border or not? And second question, has the White House any
worries that the new President-elect of Bolivia is still in alliance with
Venezuela and Cuba? And some Latin American politicians say this is true
because the U.S. President is losing ground and influence in Latin America.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I actually talked about the elections in Bolivia prior
to the holidays. You might want to look back at what I said, but I think,
essentially, I said that we congratulate the people of Bolivia for moving
forward on a democratic election. We look forward to working with the new
government. Our relationship will be based on their commitment to democracy
and the principles that we hold dear in this hemisphere, not only the
United States, but many other countries. And so we will see how that
relationship proceeds forward based on their commitment to democracy and
other important principles.

Q What about the fence?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, in terms of immigration, the President believes that
our immigration system is broken, that it needs to be fixed. That's why
he's pushing a comprehensive plan for reform. There are different methods
that have been used in different areas of the United States to help address
the problems. I think one area you're talking about is in the San Diego
area, and different needs -- where there are different needs in different
areas that we have been using to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants
into the United States. But what we need to do is look at the larger
picture and how we need to move forward on comprehensive reform, and that
means addressing all three aspects that I mentioned earlier today.

Thank you all. The President will see you shortly.

END 1:12 P.M. EST

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