At an October 8 White House briefing, Russell Mokhiber, editor of the newsletter Corporate Crime Reporter, tried to find out from Bush press secretary Scott McClellan exactly what the president’s Rasputin, Karl Rove, had to do with the outing of envoy Joseph Wilson’s secret-agent wife. Good luck.
Mokhiber: Why do you refuse to answer the question whether Karl Rove said that Joseph Wilson’s wife was “fair game”?
McClellan: I think we have been through this now—
Mokhiber: But you won’t answer the question.
McClellan: —for two days in a row—
Mokhiber: You have been dodging it. Did he say it?
McClellan: I did answer the question.
Mokhiber: Did he say it?
McClellan: Again, I answered that question—
Mokhiber: What was the answer?
McClellan: —it’s been asked for two days now—
Mokhiber: What was the answer, though?
McClellan: —it’s been addressed—
Mokhiber: What was the answer?
McClellan: I’m not going to go back through it today, because we have been through it the last couple of days. I’ve pointed out that there are some who are trying to politicize this investigation for partisan political gain. And that’s unfortunate. There is an investigation going on. No one wants to get to the bottom of this more than this White House.
Mokhiber: Why don’t you just say “I don’t want to answer the question”?
McClellan: Anybody else?
Mokhiber: Why don’t you say “I don’t want to answer that question”?
Additional reporting: Ashley Glacel