McClellan would testify before Congress if asked
- From: Jim Higgins <gordian238@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 07:23:52 -0400
McClellan would testify before Congress if asked
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/30/mcclellan.wolf.interview/index.html
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan,
whose tell-all book blasts the Bush administration on issues including
Hurricane Katrina, the election and the Iraq war, didn't say Friday
whether he still considers himself a Republican.
But he did say he supports parts of Democratic presidential candidate
Sen. Barack Obama's agenda.
"Some of what Obama says, his overall message, is very similar to the
one we ran on in 2000 about changing the way Washington works and what I
had so much hope in," said McClellan, who became the White House press
secretary in 2003 after serving as spokesman for President Bush when he
was the governor of Texas.
"But it's a very difficult thing to do, and I hope some of the Obama
staff will take a look at [McClellan's book] and consider what they need
to do if they become president."
McClellan also said he has "a lot of respect" for presumptive Republican
presidential nominee Sen. John McCain.
In his 341-page book, "What Happened," McClellan writes that Bush and
his advisers favored a "propaganda campaign" to the truth in the days
leading up to the Iraq invasion. Read excerpts from the book »
McClellan also claims that key Bush aides intentionally misled him on
major stories and that the administration's botched handling of the
Hurricane Katrina aftermath was the defining moment of Bush's second term.
In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, McClellan -- who has faced
withering criticism from the White House and other Bush allies since his
book was released -- declined to answer directly when asked if he still
considers himself a Republican.
"Well, you know, there are things I like about the Republicans,
Republican ideas, and there are Democrat ideas I like," he said.
"I've not made a decision in terms of the presidential election," he
added. "I'm someone who believes in centrist governing philosophy. And
that's what the president believed in as governor, but as president he
moved too far to the right too often."
Earlier Friday, McClellan said he would be willing to comply with a
possible congressional subpoena to discuss the administration's handling
of prewar intelligence, telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer he'd be "glad" to
share his views if asked to testify.
Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Florida, said Friday that McClellan, who left the
White House in 2006, would be able to provide valuable insight into a
number of issues under investigation by the House Judiciary Committee.
The committee is looking into the use of prewar intelligence, whether
politics was behind the firing of eight U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the
leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, Wexler, a senior
member of the Judiciary Committee, said.
In the book, McClellan says President Bush told him he had authorized
the leaking of Plame's identity to the press.VideoWatch Wexler call for
McClellan to testify »
Facing a firestorm over his book, McClellan also confirmed reports
Friday that he apologized to Richard Clarke for questioning his honesty
after the former counterterrorism official published his own book
critical of the White House.
"I don't expect we'll have a conversation [with Bush] any time soon," he
said. "I don't need to ask forgiveness from him. My comments are sincere
and honest and absolutely the truth from my perspective."
Speaking with Cooper, McClellan responded to one of the harshest
criticisms he faced this week, from former senator and Republican
presidential candidate Bob Dole.
Dole reportedly sent McClellan an e-mail saying every presidential
administration has "miserable creatures like you ... who don't have the
guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or
colleagues."
The message accuses McClellan of reveling in the attention he received
at the White House then cashing in with his book.
"I have great respect for Sen. Dole -- he's a great public servant and
someone who has served in the military as well and someone who actually
did try to work across the aisle with Democratic leaders at times, back
before things got so bitterly partisan in Washington, D.C.," McClellan said.
"But I would encourage him to see what I say in the book before he makes
those comments."
McClellan told CNN that reports the publisher of his book doesn't pay
higher than six-figure advances to its authors is "an accurate account
of things" but wouldn't say exactly how much of an advance he was paid.
"When people say, 'He's out there to make a profit,' one, they don't
know me or my upbringing and my reasoning. They haven't had a chance to
read the book," he said. "Two, they don't know ["What Happened"
publisher] Public Affairs and the kind of publisher that they are."
--
Civis Romanus Sum
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