Text 3893, 662 rader
Skriven 2007-01-05 23:31:50 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0701057) for Fri, 2007 Jan 5
===================================================

===========================================================================
Press Briefing by Tony Snow
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 5, 2007

Press Briefing by Tony Snow
White House Conference Center Briefing Room

Press Briefing view


4:03 P.M. EST

MR. SNOW: Well, as you know, we've had a couple of personnel announcements
today. The President has announced John Negroponte will be going to the
State Department and Mike McConnell will be the new Director of National
Intelligence. In addition, the Pentagon, within the hour, has announced
recommendations by Defense Secretary Gates to elevate General George Casey
to become Army Chief of Staff; General George Petraeus to be head of the
multinational forces in Iraq; Admiral William Fallon to assume commander of
Central Command; and announces the retirement of General John Abizaid.

Now, the President has accepted these recommendations and will be
forwarding the nominations, and he's pleased to do so. And we're going to
have some statements available.

Let me also do a quick explainer, because I know that there has been some
frustration on the part of many of you about our inability or unwillingness
to confirm information that you thought you had at various junctures. And
by the way, there are no further personnel announcements to be made today.

It is important at the White House to make sure that we show proper and due
respect for people who are going to be affected by appointments and
decisions we make. For instance, the announcements that were made earlier
today involving changes at the State Department and the Department [sic] of
National Intelligence are things that you have to do proper notifications,
especially to members of Congress, in this case. In other cases, you may
have decisions that have international ramifications and will involve
notifications, as well.

So I, as press secretary, and those of us who work at the White House are
not going to get in the position of trying to talk with the press about
matters where we have not at the White House completed the notifications
that are properly due to members of Congress and other interested parties.
As you noted, there was some discomfort among members of the House and
Senate about the Petraeus and McConnell announcements because they had not
been informed -- and we share those frustrations; they deserve to know
first. And we want to make it clear that we have full respect for both of
those legislative bodies. But it also will, I think, explain the approach
that we have taken, and why.

In other cases, too, when you have nominations of this sort, things may
leak out before you finish doing all the steps that you need to take and
checking all the boxes you need to check before you can proceed with
nominations and the like.

So there's your explanation, and I am now happy to take any questions about
these and other topics that may have arisen during the course of the day.

Terry.

Q The President, in his consultations about his new way forward, is he
listening to advice from people like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, who wrote
him today to say, "We do not believe that adding more U.S. combat troops
contributes to success"?

MR. SNOW: The sessions we've had today have been really constructive and
very interesting, because the President has, in fact, solicited views --
and there are people who have been critics of engagement in Iraq, as well
as those who have been supporters. And a couple of themes have emerged.

Number one, nobody is satisfied with the status quo in Iraq, including the
President. Number two, there is a recognition that there are a series of
facts on the ground that you're going to have to address. You have
sectarian violence, it's an absolute must. Which means that in addressing
sectarian violence, you not only deal with insurgents, you not only deal
with the rejectionists, you not only deal with militias, you also have to
find ways after you deal with the violence, itself, of putting together the
ability for Iraqis to gather around a unified government, to have
reconciliation -- sectarian reconciliation, political reconciliation, a
guarantee of political rights, measures designed to make sure that there is
an economic future for Iraqis, and so on.

If you take a look at the letter that was sent by Leader Reid and Speaker
Pelosi, it talks about a renewed diplomatic strategy, and the United States
remains aggressive on the diplomatic front. It talks about a sustainable
political settlement, which we think is absolutely vital, and have
continued to talk about. It talks about addressing sectarian problems,
which we consider important.

And I would draw your attention to the first two phrases in the last
sentence of the letter: "We want to do everything we can to help Iraq
succeed in the future" -- actually, just the first one. They don't believe
the U.S. combat troops provide that solution. That's fine. "We want to do
everything we can to help Iraq succeed" -- that's precisely the kind of
dialogue the President would love to have, which is, okay, when you say we
want to do anything we can, what is that, and how do you define it a
success? And those are the kinds of conversations that are going on.

The President, for the most part, is listening to people, listening to
their ideas. And, also, many of the people who are in are expressing the
concerns that their constituents have about the situation in Iraq.

So the approach that we have taken -- and there will be opportunities for
Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid to speak with the President on this -- is
the President will listen. And I think one of the things we will do is
welcome them to offer their suggestions.

The one thing the President is committed to is victory in Iraq. Winning in
Iraq, in terms of creating an Iraq that can sustain, defend and govern
itself, but also understanding that there is a larger war on terror that is
even more vital for the United States to pursue -- Iraq is a central front
in that war, but it is not the only front -- and that U.S. policy does need
-- we need to widen our gaze, to ask the question, are we prepared to
continue the battle through this -- and, no doubt, succeeding
administrations -- in waging an effective war on terror, so Americans will
have a more secure future?

So that's kind of the nature of the discussions that we've had today. And
they've been very good. The tone has been respectful. There have been some
vigorous exchanges, but they've been quite interesting, and a lot of us
taking notes, because there are things to learn from people who have come
by.

Q But, Tony, there's been a lot of talk about expectation, what the
President has or has not decided, one being the surge in U.S. troops. Are
you saying at this time that the President still has not made that decision
about sending additional troops, and he has not signed any order
instructing that to happen?

MR. SNOW: I guarantee you, if he had signed orders, you would know about
it. He has not signed any orders.

Q He hasn't made any decisions at this time?

MR. SNOW: Again, Suzanne, he has not made final decisions, and he's made
that clear to the people in the rooms. He is moving in a direction, but he
also believes in doing consultations. So, no, there is no final-final on
this yet. But there will be, we expect, by sometime next week.

Part of this is, again, making sure that you have received as much data and
as many inputs and as many points of view as you can, so that you can
fashion a policy that is going to lead to success, and furthermore, to
frame it in a way that is going to enable the American people to understand
how you're thinking about this and why it's important for them to support
it. So in many different ways, these conversations are quite useful.

Bret.

Q Tony, Senator Reid this afternoon said that the President needs to hear
from people who tell him something that he wants to hear; obviously
Generals Abizaid and Casey are not telling him what he wants to hear, and
they're out. Can you respond to that?

MR. SNOW: That's inaccurate. That's just flat inaccurate. General Casey is
now going to be the Chairman -- I mean, he's going to be the Army Chief,
the Chief of Staff for the United States Army. General Abizaid is somebody
whose counsel we will continue to value and will listen to.

What you do have is a situation where, as you develop a new way forward,
you had the situation in which you also had a couple of guys whose billets
were going to come up within a period of time. And the answer is, once
you're started on a new way forward, do you change then, or do you change
now? And it makes sense to go ahead and make sure that you're going to have
your command team that is going to be in place as you're working on this
new way forward and enacting it. And I think there's -- he has found very
able and capable individuals. Secretary Gates and the President are very
happy with the people they are now going to be proposing.

And I think -- surely, Senator Reid is not suggesting that the President
doesn't like to hear from people who disagree with him. As a matter of
fact, we've thrown the doors wide open to people who bring all points of
view precisely because we want to figure out how to get this absolutely
right.

And, again, Senator Reid, who has put together this letter -- and there's
the implicit offer that they think that they may have a way for figuring
out how to help Iraq succeed, look, that can be a very constructive
contribution to the debate. So we're looking forward to hearing it.

Q So is there any way between now and the time the President delivers the
speech that the President can be persuaded to change his mind about the way
forward in Iraq?

MR. SNOW: I'm sure there are many things -- factors that the President is
going to weigh. That is a question that's very difficult to answer because
it's so impressionistic, so I'm afraid I can't give you much help on that
one.

Q Has he nailed down which way he's going?

MR. SNOW: Not entirely. If he had, we wouldn't be doing consultations.
Again, the President has some notions about where he wants to end up, but
he's made it clear to everybody he has not made a final decision. And you
often hear him and others referring to it in the course of meetings.

Jim.

Q Tony, in the last communication the President had with Prime Minister
Maliki, he said he was looking for signs of Prime Minister Maliki's will,
and he said that he found what he was looking for. But the fact that he's
still looking this far in the game, what's changed? I mean, a couple of
months ago, he was the right guy for the job.

MR. SNOW: No, I think -- and I think he's seeing it. For instance, the
Prime Minister, within the last hour or so, has released a statement where
he's talking about making aggressive new moves in Baghdad. And I think
there have been a lot of questions here in the United States, and people
are asking the question: What are the Iraqis going to do? And those are
questions that are worth answering.

Prime Minister Maliki, as I've told you, in our dealings with him, is
somebody who seems to be -- who is becoming more assertive and more
comfortable with power. This is a guy who has now been a head of state for
something like seven months in a country that --

Q Head of government.

MR. SNOW: -- head of government. What did I say?

Q Head of state.

MR. SNOW: Head of state. Thank you. Head of government -- for going on
seven months in a country that has not had a functioning democracy before,
where people are still trying to figure out how political parties work. And
you now see him more comfortable with taking these things on. What the
President really is doing is rephrasing a question a lot of Americans have
asked, and we think we're starting to see answers for.

Q But when we're talking about will, obviously he hadn't seen something
that -- I mean, he's asking questions, that if he already had all the
evidence that made him feel comfortable enough, obviously there were
questions about --

MR. SNOW: -- Prime Minister Maliki. Again, I think what the President is
doing is expressing -- this is -- he's rephrasing a question that a lot of
Americans are asking, and we heard a lot today.

Q One follow. Was the President running by parts of -- or possibilities
that he was leaning toward involving a new way forward -- was he running
that by Prime Minister Maliki to --

MR. SNOW: No, they spent time -- no. This is not where the President is
sort of trying stuff out. Instead --

Q Yes, that he had the will to back up what the President wanted to hear?

MR. SNOW: No, no, no, no, no. You've got the order precisely backwards.
Prime Minister Maliki is the man who's responsible, who's the head of
government in Iraq.

Q So he's coming up with the way forward?

MR. SNOW: Yes. If you listen to what was said -- what Prime Minister Maliki
did is he outlined his suggestions for taking a look at the Baghdad
security plan when he and the President met in Amman. And that has provided
a basis for future discussions. So this is not -- I really want to clear up
the misconception that the United States is drafting plans and handing
orders to the Iraqis, because that's not the case. The Iraqis are playing a
very active role and saying this is what we think is going to be the most
effective way forward. So this is not done in a vacuum. And the ultimate
end result here is Iraqis assuming full control over security and other
operations within their country.

Q But the President next week is not going to address the American public
with what Prime Minister Maliki wants to do in Iraq, he's going to address
what he wants to do.

MR. SNOW: But he does not do this in a vacuum, Jim, he is doing it in
concert with the government of Iraq, where Prime Minister Maliki is the man
with whom he deals on this.

Q That's why I was asking, was he talking with him about specifics of what
might appear next Wednesday or Thursday?

MR. SNOW: They were talking about a range of things, but I'm not going to
get into fine points. The point I made yesterday is, he did not say, here
is where we're going, here is what we want to do. There was no conversation
like that.

Q But if Maliki would -- if he were to listen to what the President wanted
to do, and said, "Uh-uh, that's not good," the President would find some
other path?

MR. SNOW: I think that is probably the case. But on the other hand, keep in
mind that none of these conversations occur in vacuum. The Prime Minister
speaks on an almost daily basis with the Ambassador, so, frankly, when
you're putting together a plan, you also put it together with an eye on
figuring out what you think is going to lead to success. And part of that
success is making sure the government of Iraq, which increasingly is going
to be leading the action, that this is done in support of that government.

The government of Iraq is not in a support role for us; we're in a support
role for them. And, again, I think a lot of the debate in this country is,
what are the Americans going to come in and do -- as if it's a unilateral
action, and it's just not.

Q With the announcement today the President has replaced the entire senior
chain of command for the war in Iraq, from the Defense Secretary down to
the head of the Central Command and the ground commander. Is his goal here
to find new people who are less wedded to the tactics and the ideas of the
past?

MR. SNOW: No, I think -- look, when Bob Gates was named as Defense
Secretary, and we also announced the resignation of Don Rumsfeld, the
notion of a fresh set of eyes was discussed. One of the things that you do
have with the people who are coming in are track records, experience, and
at the same time, creativity and ingenuity.

But I would -- the problem with questions like that is that it invites one
to criticize or make odious comparisons of people like George Casey, who
has been a magnificent head of MNFI, and is going to be a magnificent
Secretary of the Army [sic], or John Abizaid, who has been one of the most
extraordinary officers --

Q Secretary of the Army?

MR. SNOW: What did I say?

Q Secretary of the Army.

MR. SNOW: No, no, Army Chief of Staff. Thank you, John, you're helping --
it's been a very long day. I've been batting down rumors so long that my
head is swimming.

The point is that these are enormously capable people, and they have served
their country well, not merely during the war in Iraq, but for many, many
years. And we continue to value their contributions. So that's why I'm
answering the question the way I do. I think the more sensible thing is --
as I pointed out before, you've got people whose billets are going to
expire; do you make the changes in the middle of the way forward, or do you
do this up front? And what you then look for are people who are capable.

With David Petraeus, you have somebody who has experience in
counter-insurgency experience within Iraq. And that's an important thing.
And Fox Fallon is somebody who obviously is well known and well respected
for his abilities, as well.

Q Tony, are there, in fact, differences between the President and the Joint
Chiefs over whether to increase troops in Iraq?

MR. SNOW: No, I mean, I've seen a lot of press reports. What's interesting
is that you get blind quotes in these things. The President relies on the
expertise and the advice of people within the chain of command. He's still
the Commander-in-Chief, and as Commander-in-Chief, once he decides on a way
forward, the people within that chain of command are the ones who figure
out the best way to execute it. But these things are not done in a vacuum.
And the President has always been somebody who defers to commanders on a
lot of key issues, because they're going to know a lot of the vagaries
better.

Again, at this point, what I would suggest, while everybody is trying to
put together a narrative, surge or no surge, we'll have an opportunity next
week to talk about a lot of these things, so that it's not -- the
questioning is not indirect. You can ask direct questions about real
policies then.

John.

Q Thank you, Tony.

MR. SNOW: No, thank you for correcting me twice today. That's been very
helpful. (Laughter.)

Q My mother says it's rude.

MR. SNOW: I'll drink a coffee to wake up. It's not rude at all. Thanks. Go
ahead.

Q Thank you. This is arguably the most significant shake-up in the military
command since the President has taken office, or at least since General
Pace became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Did General Abizaid or any of
those who are going to civilian life in this submit a letter of
resignation, or have an exit interview with the President that you could
enlighten us on?

MR. SNOW: Not that I'm aware of at this point. I know there's been some
communication with General Abizaid. Again, look, what you're talking is --

Q Written communication?

MR. SNOW: I don't know. I know there's been verbal communication, of which
I'm aware. I don't know if there's anything written. I'll try to find out.
But those going to civilian life number one. So you find that General
Abizaid is retiring after 33 years. And, again, he is somebody who is an
extraordinary officer, and somebody whose counsel we'll continue to value
and solicit.

Q Can you describe the process of consulting with Congress? In other words,
how were the members chosen today? What will be the next wave of members?
How are you -- and just to follow up on Terry's question, is it the case
the President is actually going to do a sit-down with Pelosi and Reid --

MR. SNOW: He will be speaking with them before it's all done.

Q But they will be --

MR. SNOW: Let me just tell you -- and I'm going to go no further, because I
probably have gone further than I should. The rules under which we do these
meetings are ones where we say members of Congress -- we're not going to
tell who is in the meetings. And they can decide whether they want to go
out to the sticks or speak to reporters.

Q So how many were in today? Just how many?

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to tell you.

Q Just a number.

MR. SNOW: No.

Q Why?

MR. SNOW: Because it's just -- it's one of the standards and procedures
that's been used in these meetings.

Q You were going to tell --

MR. SNOW: Look, you're fishing for process. I'm simply telling you that
these were significant meetings. And part of this is that out of respect
for members, we're going to abide by the ground rules. And the ground rules
are, we're not going to say who was in there, but they can certainly feel
free to come forward and speak.

Q So how is it going to proceed?

MR. SNOW: Well, it's going to proceed in much the same fashion as happened,
which is that people are going to be coming in, and they're going to be
speaking with the President. And he is inviting very candid comments. He
wants to hear what people have to say.

It's interesting because you've got a new Congress where you've got
Democratic leadership and he is openly and eagerly soliciting the views and
ideas of Democrats. And he continues to do the same with Republicans. And
so you've got both sides, and there is -- look, there is considerable
concern in this country about what's going on in Iraq. And members have
made no secret of that. And the President absolutely agrees with their
concerns.

So what you have are some -- they're refreshing, because everybody assumes
that when we talk about bipartisanship that it's just sort of happy face,
kumbaya stuff, and we're really lying through our teeth. And the fact is
that these meetings may not be happy face/kumbaya, but they have been very
constructive in the sense that people are talking respectfully about
important issues, and expressing their ideas. And some of them are quite
interesting. And we're taking them into account.

Q So you go around the room and everyone gets a chance to speak? I mean,
you said it was a very interesting process. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: Those who wish to speak, speak; and those who don't, don't.

Q And has he heard anything he hasn't heard before?

MR. SNOW: Yes, I think so. I think so. And, no, I won't tell you what it
is.

Q Wouldn't it be more useful at this point for the President to say, well
here's where I'm going, what do you all think about that? If it's --

MR. SNOW: No, because when that happens, there will be some of that, as
well -- when he's decided upon the way forward --

Q But then it will already have been decided. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: No, wait a minute. You just told me -- what the hell do you want
me to do here? (Laughter.) I'm saying he's going to -- he's consulting
before the decision, he's consulting after the decision, and when I tell
you that he's consulting before the decision, you say, why don't we do it
after? And then when I say he's doing it after, you say, why didn't he do
it before?

Q I'm questioning the use of the word "consulting." He's listening. Well,
that's fine. You know, members of Congress can come in and pop off all they
want, and then he says, okay, here's my plan, guys; I took into account
what you wanted. But if it's real consultation, it's kind of like, well,
here's what I'm thinking, what do you think about that? Instead of, you all
tell me what you think, okay, fine, here's the plan.

MR. SNOW: Well, I guarantee you the President will do the latter. He is
doing the former. Please give him proper credit for inviting people in to
express their views. And guess what? My guess is, when he says, here's how
I plan to go forward -- my sense is that members of Congress -- who tend
not to be showing reticence as a general proposition -- after all, they get
elected by talking -- they're going to share their views then, as well.

So you get both. I mean, come on. There's going to be an opportunity for
people to express their views on it, and that's healthy.

One, the President has a plan. Everybody is going to find out what it is.
And there will be vigorous and healthy and important debate about it. And
what we're trying to do is to make sure that members of Congress, in fact,
do get the hearing.

Victoria.

Q How concerned is the President that a surge is, in fact, going in
directly the opposite direction from that which the voters made very clear
they wanted to go in, in November?

MR. SNOW: What you're doing is you're asking me, is the President concerned
about the public opinion and ramifications of a policy that he may or may
not have chosen. When the President chooses a policy, we can do the public
polling questions. I think at this point it's preliminary.

Q What sort of role or value does the Pelosi-Reid letter about troop surge
and saying they disagree with that policy play into the President's
thinking going forward to next week?

MR. SNOW: Well, again, I will go back to what I said before, which is that
there also is a discussion in here about their determination, as they say
-- they're very clear about it -- where they say, "we want to do everything
we can to help Iraq succeed in the future." We want to hear what their
ideas are. But that's -- our view at this point is that we are in a -- we
are in a period right now where we're listening to members of Congress and
we not only want to hear what they have to say, but if they have
alternative plans and views, we're interested in hearing that, as well.

The point of the exercise, and the point of the deliberation about a way
forward is to get it right. And over the recent months, the President has
invited into the White House people with widely divergent views on how to
proceed. And he has had people who have been harshly critical of his
policies, because we do want to hear as much. And other people within the
White House also have had conversations with people with widely divergent
views.

The approach to the way forward, understanding that sectarian violence had
risen to absolutely unacceptable levels, and that two attempts with Baghdad
plans had not addressed it adequately, the idea is, you need to take a very
clear and fresh look and incorporating as many points of view as possible
so you get this right.

So the ultimate objective here is not to engage in sparring, but to engage
in an open dialogue with people on both sides of the aisle.

Q Tony, one on the Middle East, one on North Korea. The President last
night said that he favored a Quartet meeting at the appropriate time. What
factors are going to shape what the appropriate time is? Does it have to
happen after Secretary Rice comes back?

MR. SNOW: I think it's likely to happen after Secretary Rice comes back.
There are going to be some opportunities for the Quartet to get together
sometime in the relatively near future. But nothing yet has been completely
ironed out. But Secretary Rice will be -- it's certainly going to be after
her upcoming trip.

Q And on North Korea, today the Japanese Foreign Minister came out and said
that the United States and Japan are working on a contingency plan to
handle a crisis that would overwhelm the ability of the region to absorb
refugees from North Korea. Anything new going on there? Any new crisis,
anything that you see happening coming down the pipe that --

MR. SNOW: No. People make plans all the time. As a matter of fact, as you
noted after -- it is a standard part of any government's preparation to try
to take a look at all alternatives, domestically and internationally, and
to try to prepare for them. And in this case, obviously, the United States
and Japan, as parties to the six-party talks, have interests in trying to
address. But that's a bit of gaming. Look, what we're hoping is for the
six-party talks to resume soon.

Goyal.

Q Two quick questions. One, as far as talking about India-U.S. relations
and the (inaudible) in the new year -- President is very famous in India,
and among the Indian-American community here because of that civil nuclear
agreement between the two countries. And where we move from here? What is
the future of India-U.S. relations beyond this agreement?

MR. SNOW: Well, obviously India is a large, booming, vital country with a
rapidly expanding economy, and we are delighted to be having closer and
continuing closer relationships with the government of India and the people
of India. So there are now before us any number -- there is regional
security, trade, the normal set of challenges and opportunities that you'd
have in dealing with any global power or ally.

But the Indian Civil Nuclear Treaty was obviously a very important signal
to the people of India about the intent of this government and the people
of the United States. We look forward to India being a closer and closer
ally and an increasingly important one.

Q Will there be another visit between the two countries, a high level --

MR. SNOW: Look, I'm sure there will continue to be high level contacts, but
I don't have anything to say about visits at this point, and don't know
anything about them.

Q Second question. Yesterday, on the Capitol Hill first House Speaker
woman, Nancy Pelosi. She was talking about that from kitchen to Congress,
that she is the first woman ever to lead the U.S. Congress. She was talking
about new ideas on the Hill, under the new and Democratic Congress. What
you think President sees new ideas she will bring, like immigration bill,
or --

MR. SNOW: Well, we'll see. Look, give her a chance. She just -- they
haven't really begun rolling up their sleeves and getting to business,
they'll do that next week. I think you allow Democrats -- I'm often asked
to respond to hypotheticals about pieces of legislation. Let's let this new
Democratic Congress, the new Democratic leaders, and the committee chairs,
and those who are drafting legislation, let's see what they have. They've
made a lot of comments, and we'll be happy to react once there are things
on paper and debates underway.

Q Why I mention (inaudible) is because a lot of small businesses are
looking, but they cannot find people, including in the high-tech region --

MR. SNOW: I understand. As I said, Goyal, we're talking in a vacuum right
now.

Q Tony, thank you. Will the President invite Wesley Autrey, who is the New
York Subway Samaritan, to the White House?

MR. SNOW: I don't know.

Q Since we've waited four hours, could I get two more?

MR. SNOW: As long as they don't take four hours. (Laughter.)

Q They won't.

Q That was the second one. (Laughter.)

MR. SNOW: That was already one, so what's your other one?

Q No, no. This morning The Washington Times noted, "The Bush administration
reached an agreement with Mexico that would permit illegal aliens, after
they are granted amnesty in the future, to claim Social Security benefits
for the work they preformed while in the U.S. illegally, even if they
committed felonies by using fraudulent Social Security documents." Could
you explain why this is not subsidizing crime?

MR. SNOW: I don't know anything about it, Les. Sorry. Forgive me -- this,
again -- I want you to put on your newsman's hat. For the last 25 hours,
I've been dealing with who is going to take what position in Washington at
which department. And so if I am preparing for a news conference, probably
the last thing I'm going to be doing is something which, while it may be of
vital interest, it may not be top of mind. So if you wish -- and I've made
this offer to Goyal and others -- if you want to ask me a question like
this and you really want a good answer, call me beforehand so I can be
prepared.

Q I will. Last question: The Internet had a news release yesterday which
announced that Cindy Sheehan would join Daniel Elsberg and Michael Ratner
of the so-called Center for Constitutional Rights, in calling on the
Congress to impeach the President. Does the White House know if that
happened, and what was your reaction, if it did?

MR. SNOW: No, I didn't know it had happened. And Speaker Pelosi has already
said that no such proceedings will take place. We'll take her at her word.
She is, after all, the Speaker of the House.

Q Thank you.

END 4:34 P.M. EST
===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070105-7.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)