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Skriven 2007-03-06 23:33:22 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0703065) for Tue, 2007 Mar 6
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Press Briefing by Dana Perino
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary March 6, 2007

Press Briefing by Dana Perino White House Conference Center Briefing Room

˙ Video (Windows) ˙˙Press Briefings


12:37 P.M. EST

MS. PERINO: Good afternoon. Obviously, we have a verdict from the jury in
the Scooter Libby trial. Let me start off by saying that the President was
informed by -- he was in the Oval Office. He saw the verdict read on
television. Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and Counselor Dan Bartlett were with
him.

He said that he respected the jury's verdict, that he was saddened for
Scooter Libby and his family, and that the White House direction from here
on out -- and I know that there's going to be a lot of disappointment with
this, but there is an ongoing criminal proceeding. Scooter Libby's
attorneys just announced that they are going to ask for a new trial and
that they are going to -- failing that, they will appeal the verdict. And
so our principled stand of not commenting on an ongoing legal investigation
is going to continue. I know that's going to be very disappointing for
many, but that is the decision that we're going to -- that we've made, and
the decision -- and the practice that we're going to continue on the way
forward.

Q Let me ask you about some of the congressional reaction. You have Senator
Reid saying that President Bush must pledge not to pardon Libby for his
criminal conduct. What's the reaction to that?

MS. PERINO: Well, I'm aware of no such request for a pardon. And as is
afforded to all Americans, there is a process that is followed in which to
apply for a pardon. And I don't think that speculating on a wildly
hypothetical situation at this time is appropriate.

Q You're not closing the door to it, you're leaving the door open to a
pardon?

MS. PERINO: I'm not commenting on a hypothetical situation. I think that
that is the best way to respond to that. I think that there is a process in
place for all Americans, if they want to receive a pardon from a President,
be that any President that is in office, and I'm aware of no such request.

Q Would the President be receptive to that?

MS. PERINO: It is a hypothetical situation. I'm never even brought it up
with him.

Q Has the President talked to the Vice President yet?

MS. PERINO: No. The Vice President was on his way to the Senate policy
lunch. I believe that's what -- no, it was this afternoon. And so the
President was in the Oval Office, ready for his lunch. The Vice President
was on his way to the Hill, so he didn't get a chance to see him.

Q Does the President feel like there's any responsibility to figure out a
way to talk about this in a way that doesn't prejudice or jeopardize any
ensuing legal process, and still say something to the American people about
this case?

MS. PERINO: We've given it a lot of thought, to try to find out a way to
sort of answer the mail on the requests that are coming in from not just
the media, but also from the American people. However, the legal advice
that we get from our Counsel's Office, and the request that we had from the
parties in the case was that we not comment on it while there was an
ongoing criminal matter. And since that is still the case, I think that
what the President -- the best thing I can offer you right now is what the
President's reaction is, that he respected the verdict, he respects the
jury, and we're just not going to be able to comment on it beyond it.

Q One more follow on this. And again, what I'm asking you in no way deals
with any ongoing legal proceedings. I'm asking you now that the
administration has, on one hand, with the Libby trial, questions raised
about how the administration decided to go to war, and on the other side
right now, with the Walter Reed situation, there's questions about what
happened once the administration did go to war. Are you feeling political
pressure building in sort of a new and intensified way?

MS. PERINO: I'm not sure how you're putting those two things together. In
regards to intelligence and prewar intelligence, we have answered those
questions repeatedly, and we have taken action to fix what was wrong in the
intelligence community in order to make sure that that never happens again.
When you're talking about the Walter Reed and the effects from that, I'm
not exactly sure how you bring those two together.

Q I'm saying there are two news stories right now that are making --
putting the war, not only how we got there, but what happened once we did
get there, in terms of various ways the policy that the White House pursued
-- the consequences. And I'm wondering if you feel now a new pressure to
sort of -- or the President feels a new pressure to look the American
people in the eye and explain the fallout, the consequences of what's
obviously and naturally going to be raised by these two stories?

MS. PERINO: I don't see where -- I understand where you're coming from. I
don't see it that way. I think that the President answers to the American
people quite regularly, all the time. We're here every day on his behalf,
and then you get to ask him questions quite regularly, as well. So the
President talks about how we are going to make sure that this never happens
again in the intelligence community, as well as taking immediate action to
make sure that the problems that were uncovered at Walter Reed are fixed,
and not only at Walter Reed, with the DoD commission, but just today he
announced a bipartisan non-governmental commission to take a longer view,
to make sure that our global war on terror servicemen and women get the
care that they need. We can talk about both stories, I just don't know if
they fit into the same paragraph.

Q They fit into the fallout of the decision to go to war.

MS. PERINO: The President has said that the hardest decision that any
President ever makes is a decision to send young men and women into war.
And again, he's taking action to make sure that the servicemen and women
get what they need upon return, if they are wounded, or -- beyond being
wounded, but also if they need additional education, if they want to start
a business, to make sure that they get back on their feet when they come
back to the States.

Bret.

Q Dana, I'll try it another way. Dissecting Senator Reid's statement that
was put out just a minute after the verdict was read. He says, "It's about
time someone in the Bush administration has been held accountable for the
campaign to manipulate intelligence and discredit war critics."

MS. PERINO: I just totally reject his characterization. I just went through
all the things that we said about prewar intelligence, how the President
took responsibility for the gaps that we had, and then immediately worked
-- and now over the years has built a very different intelligence community
that is working much better, headed by the DNI. And we have a new CIA
Director, we have a national counterterrorism center, we have the Homeland
Security Council. And by all accounts, they are all coordinating much
better. And so in regards to improving intelligence and making sure that we
all have the best information possible, we've taken action on that. So I
just disagree with the characterization of his comment.

Q Is this damaging to this White House, embarrassing for this White House?

MS. PERINO: You know, I think that any administration that has to go
through a prolonged news story that is unpleasant and one that is difficult
for -- when you're under the constraints and the policy of not commenting
on an ongoing criminal matter, that can be very frustrating. But I think
that we have been able to continue on, moving forward on all sorts of
different fronts while also being aware that this situation is out there.
But, no, I wouldn't characterize it the way you did.

Q Dana, in the closing argument, the special prosecutor said that there was
a cloud over the vice presidency. Now that all is said and done, do you
share that concern?

MS. PERINO: Certainly not. And I don't know how the Vice President is going
to respond today. I don't know if they'll be issuing a statement, or not,
but we'll try to connect with Lea Anne McBride -- but as I said, the Vice
President was at this lunch when the verdict was read. And so I don't have
more from his office at this time.

Q So there are no concerns about his credibility, his role in this?

MS. PERINO: No.

David.

Q What about the overall White House credibility? Has it been damaged now
that a senior administration official has been convicted of perjury?

MS. PERINO: You know, I think that when Scooter Libby was first indicted,
one of the things that the President said was that we were saddened by the
situation. But, no, I would disagree with -- I would not agree with the
characterization of the question.

Q As you know, people are trying to tie this to Iraq. Does that affect the
way you all proceed on other issues, such as Iran and North Korea -- do you
feel like there is credibility on those situations that have been undercut
--

MS. PERINO: Let me just remind everybody of how the President took
responsibility and has completely revamped the intelligence community, and
by all accounts, everyone is much better coordinated not only amongst
ourselves, with the 16 or 17 intelligence agencies that we have here, but
with our allies overseas. And so when we're working on matters of sensitive
intelligence, which is a difficult -- difficult to unearth it, to try to
gather all of this information, all of the sources that we need in order to
gain the information that we have -- the DNI's office is pulling all that
together and making sure that gaps don't exist.

Q I keep reading and hearing the phrase, the curtain has been pulled back
on the way the Bush administration does business, through this trial. Do
you agree with that, in some way that people have a little better
understanding of how business is done?

MS. PERINO: I'm not exactly sure that this trial has showed anything
regarding that. What I will say is that throughout any administration or
any -- if you're on the Hill, anywhere, that attacks and defenses are
mounted every day in this city, and we have an obligation to make sure that
our points are getting across. But I don't think that the trial did what
you said it did.

Q You said the President is saddened by this. Was there anyone in the White
House, or him, personally, reaching out to Scooter Libby, expressing --

MS. PERINO: Not that I'm aware of. Again, it just happened 30 minutes ago,
so I don't know.

Q Obviously, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid puts out this statement
within a minute of the verdict being released. It's clear, apparently,
Democrats are going to try to derive some political benefit from that. Is
the White House concerned about this, that they'll --

MS. PERINO: I'm shocked, shocked --

Q -- that they will paint this as another ethics problem, one among many
that Republicans have had in recent years?

MS. PERINO: If the Democrats choose to use anything for personal or
political gain, I wouldn't be surprised. But I'm not going to -- again, I
reject the characterization of his comments, and I'm not able to comment
further about the merits of the trial.

Q Can I just follow up on something you just said about attacks and
defenses being mounted every day in this city? I'm not asking you to
comment on the perjury and obstruction charges, but is this an example of
kind of everyday attacks and defenses that are mounted -- that are focused
on this trial? Is there nothing unusual about what happened here?

MS. PERINO: Well, I know that there's going to be many different ways to
try to get me to comment on the trial. The point that I was making, Mark,
is that if this wouldn't -- if we wouldn't have come in here today and had
Harry Reid give a statement about this, that there probably would have been
a statement about something else, about maybe the President's budget on
Veterans Affairs, and then I would have worked to make sure that you
understood and had the facts as we saw them and had all the information.
That's the point that I was getting at.

Q Just the way you said it made it sound like, well, this is just
completely --

MS. PERINO: That's not how I meant it.

April.

Q Dana, somewhat on the line of lessons learned, how has this
administration, with all of this going on, learned to police itself, or is
it policing itself, from retaliation in an era of trying to defend itself
in Washington? How do you --

MS. PERINO: I really do appreciate how people are seeking comment about the
trial, in one shape, form or another. And I am just not in a position to be
able to do that.

Q It's not about the trial. It's about how the White House itself deals
with the attacks now. Instead of retaliation, are you finding ways --

MS. PERINO: I think that we deal -- we deal with attacks day in and day out
all of the time, and --

Q Are there safeguards, policing measures now that you have within the
White House, that you have to scrutinize before you go out and make
statements about --

MS. PERINO: The President has said that he expects everyone to act in the
most ethical manner, which is how we conduct ourselves.

Q Dana, you said the President is saddened by this. Is he saddened by the
fact that a former top advisor in this building is facing this personal
problem? Or is he saddened by the fact that a former advisor is convicted
of lying in a federal investigation?

MS. PERINO: He was saddened for Scooter himself, personally, and for
Scooter's family.

Q He's not saddened that his top advisor lied to -- was found guilty of
lying to investigators?

MS. PERINO: He's saddened for Scooter. We're not going to comment on the
trial.

Q I have one on this, I have one on another issue.

MS. PERINO: Maybe we can do this, and then I can finish up and come back.

Q You said that nobody has reached out to Scooter from the White House?

MS. PERINO: Not that I'm aware of, no.

Q Is he being cut loose after being a loyal soldier?

MS. PERINO: I don't know -- Victoria, I'm not -- I don't know anybody who
has been contact with him. It's possible that people have. I have not.

Q Does the White House believe that this will make it harder politically to
prosecute the war in Iraq? And I ask that because the debate recently has
shifted from the President and the White House to Capitol Hill, now with
the spotlight back on the President. Is he concerned about public support
further eroding?

MS. PERINO: No, I don't -- I don't believe so. I think that what we have
there is General Petraeus on the ground for just about three weeks now,
implementing the new strategy. Very tough days. We had -- you see some
signs of success, but you also see horrible suicide bombings and you also
see our soldiers dying. And so we have got a long way to go. And as I think
I've talked to you about, we're in a marathon, not a sprint, when it comes
to communicating for the importance of winning in the war in Iraq and the
global war on terror, and in explaining to Capitol Hill the President's
decisions, and also his decision-making, what went into them.

MS. PERINO: Greg, go ahead.

Q Are there any administration policies or rules in effect that would
prevent any White House employees from making contributions to Scooter
Libby's legal defense fund if they so chose to on a personal basis?

MS. PERINO: Not that I'm aware of, but we can check with the Counsel's
Office and let you know.

Q Dana, is this --

MS. PERINO: Go ahead. Let me just finish back here. Go ahead, Paula.

Q You mentioned a moment ago how the President expects everyone to uphold
the highest ethical standards. Have the White House or the President in any
way commented on the ethics involved in this? I think in the beginning, he
said he takes this seriously, and he changed the ground rules for
dismissal. Why hasn't he ever commented on --

MS. PERINO: I think the President has had a very principled and responsible
stand to not comment on the ongoing criminal matter in any way, shape, or
form, and that has been his position. It's been the -- it's a responsible
one, it's a principled one, and that's what he's done.

Q He hasn't commented on the ethical conduct --

MS. PERINO: Well, again, I appreciate how people want to try to get us to
comment on the trial in any way, shape, or form, and we're just -- we're
not going to do it.

John.

Q Can you say when you are going to be able to comment on the verdict?
(Laughter.)

MS. PERINO: Hypothetically, had there been an acquittal today, then our
conversation might have been very different.

Q Given that there was a conviction, though, when do you think the process
would --

MS. PERINO: I think you have to let the appeals process play itself out.

Q So after the appeals process is over?

MS. PERINO: I think when it is no longer an ongoing criminal matter, that's
when I would say that that would be -- the time when the trial was over.

Q One more thing. Do you think that Senator Reid was acting inappropriately
by issuing the statement that he issued today?

MS. PERINO: No. If that were the case, then that would be a pretty
interesting standard.

Q Dana, back on the fighting the war thing, and it's kind of a tough
connection, but Democrats appear to be failing to get their effort to stop
the surge to move forward on Capitol Hill. Do you think somehow that this
verdict is empowering war critics and somehow rallying the troops on the
other side?

MS. PERINO: I don't know.

Q But is there a fear that that is what the verdict is?

MS. PERINO: Not that I've heard expressed, no. I think that one of the
things that we -- and the other day, I said that we can all -- we all know
that what the Democrats are for, we just don't know what they are -- I'm
sorry, what they are against, but we don't know what they're for. But I
think anymore, we're not even sure what they're against, nor what they are
for when it comes to opposing a surge and the way -- the tools that they're
going to use in order to manifest that position.

And so we continue to wait to see what sort of legislation is going to be
proposed. And there's been no -- nothing put to paper yet as far as I've
seen. And so they continue to have discussions up there amongst the
Democrats. The way you describe it, no, I haven't heard anybody express
that concern.

Q Two questions. One, is it unfair for the American people to sort of lump
this all in with the administration and say, well, the verdict today, it's
a culture of corruption -- is that unfair, do you think, in some sense?

MS. PERINO: I do, yes. Believe us, we understand that the American people
have a somewhat negative view of Washington, whether it come from the
partisan, or charges of corruption, or convictions of corruption. And so
our duty is to make sure that we uphold the most ethical standards that we
can.

John, go ahead. Sorry, Kevin. Did you have a second?

Q Yes, I did have a follow on the surge. Have you gotten any reports from
generals on the ground, commanders in the field, how it's going? Are we
seeing progress, are they encouraged by what they've seen so far?

MS. PERINO: I think we have to remember that General Petraeus has only been
on the ground for three weeks. And so I think it's too early to tell. The
President does get regular updates, but no one has come back with a
pass/fail grade yet.

Q Going back to your earlier answer, why is it appropriate for Senator Reid
to make these comments, but it would be inappropriate for you to make
comments about this?

MS. PERINO: I'm just not going to make a judgment about Senator Reid and
his decision to issue statements from his office about any topic.

Is this still on this topic? Anybody else?

Q -- it's terrorism.

MS. PERINO: Okay, quickly.

Q -- who is a close ally of Osama bin Laden, he told the British press in
London that Osama bin Laden is alive and he has been talking to him and
he's planning attacks along the Pakistani border.

MS. PERINO: And your question?

Q Yes, he's planning some attacks in Afghanistan because what you see today
in Afghanistan, all these -- that's because

-- Osama bin Laden. And also --

MS. PERINO: What is your question, Goyal?

Q The question is that, British intelligence are informing yesterday that
be aware of attacks from Osama bin Laden. What are we doing here in the
U.S.? Are we warning same thing, telling --

MS. PERINO: I'm not going to comment on the intelligence matters, but of
course, you can -- rest assured, we are continuing to hunt for Osama bin
Laden.

Victoria.

Q One more quick question.

MS. PERINO: No, Goyal, let me keep going, since we are running a little
late here.

Go ahead, Victoria.

Q During the week of May the 4th, 2003 --

MS. PERINO: Okay. (Laughter.)

Q Did Karl Rove speak to anybody in the executive or the legislative branch
about the Iranian proposal for negotiations with the United States?

MS. PERINO: No, not that I'm aware of. I have looked into this
preliminarily, and he has no recollection of that.

Q No recollection from anybody at all?

MS. PERINO: No.

Q Okay.

MS. PERINO: Mark.

Q Can we go back to the President's speech to the American Legion?

MS. PERINO: Sure.

Q A line at the end that struck me --

MS. PERINO: Okay.

Q In closing, he talked about the letters he's gotten from soldiers. He
then turns and says, "The struggle in Iraq may be hard, but this should not
be a time for despair." Does the President sense despair out there now?

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that he senses people's patience running out, and
people's frustration with seeing the innocent people of Iraq being killed
and our soldiers being killed. And I think what he was trying to do was
deliver a message of we can win this war. We've got a strategy in place, we
have a general that is backed unanimously by the United States Senate.
Hopefully, they will give him the tools he needs in order to prosecute --
I'm sorry, to implement that plan. But I think that the President is trying
to remind people that we have -- we have a way to win here, and we just
need to stand fast and do it.

Lester.

Q Yes, thank you, Dana. Two questions.

MS. PERINO: Quick.

Q The AP reports that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is suing the Army Corps
of Engineers for $77 billion for damages because of levee breaches during
Hurricane Katrina. And my question: Without reference to any trial that may
ensue, does the Bush administration believe the city of New Orleans and the
state of Louisiana had no responsibility for that levee breaking?

MS. PERINO: Surely you wouldn't want me to comment on any possible
litigation.

Q It's not -- it hasn't started --

MS. PERINO: No, I'm not going to comment on that, on a lawsuit.

Q Okay. An HBO TV personality named Bill Maher said on the air, the Vice
President, "I'm just saying, if he did die, other people, more people would
live. That is a fact." End of quote. Question: Since this is the same
person whom ABC fired five years ago for commending the terrorists
responsible for 9/11, surely the White House has some concern about Maher's
reference to the desirability of the Vice President's death, don't you?

MS. PERINO: I'm not going to dignify his comments with a response.

Q Do you think that it's outrageous -- you think it's outrageous, don't
you?

MS. PERINO: I'm not commenting, Lester.

Q The former U.S. attorney from Maryland by the name of Tom DiBiagio is
quoted in The New York Times this morning as saying that he believes he was
forced to resign because of pressure surrounding the political
investigations that he was undertaking. What is the White House response to
that?

MS. PERINO: The Justice Department has said that Mr. DiBiagio, the decision
to ask him to resign was made by a 42-year career employee of DOJ who
oversees ethics issues for the department, and was unaware of any
investigation into former Maryland Governor Ehrlich's administration, and
the White House was not advised of the decision.

Terry.

Q Follow-up, please. Is the White House regularly advised of corruption
investigations going on by various U.S. attorneys?

MS. PERINO: No, not that I'm aware of. I don't believe so.

Terry.

Q Did the Justice Department try to hush up the fired prosecutors from
talking about their cases?

MS. PERINO: Not that I'm aware. I saw that testimony today, but it was the
first I'd heard of it.

Q And six of the eight people who were fired said today that their thoughts
would be welcomed by the Justice Department and they could be freely and
openly debated, but that that's not the case. Is the administration trying
to stifle dissent from these people?

MS. PERINO: I would refer you to Justice Department for the merits of their
decision. But what I can tell you is that the Justice Department did, as
with any agency that wants to make a change in a political appointee
status, let the White House know that they were thinking of making a change
of these political appointees and asking them to resign. The White House --
it would have been unusual if they hadn't told the White House about it. We
did not disagree with their recommendations, and the Justice Department
moved forward to implement their plan.

Q When you say you didn't disagree, who was that? Was that --

MS. PERINO: The Counsel's Office.

Q -- at the President's level or --

MS. PERINO: For sure, Counsel's Office. I did check with Chief of Staff
Josh Bolten; he does not recall if he was briefed on it or not.

Q How about Karl Rove's office? Do you know if he was involved?

MS. PERINO: I don't believe so.

END 1:03 P.M. EST
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