Press Gaggle by Scott Mcclellan

Office of the Press Secretary

12:13 P.M. EDT

MR. McCLELLAN: All right, let's get started. We'll release this transcript, as well.

I told you I'd keep you informed at the appropriate time. The President met with Pat Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney in charge of the leak investigation, as well as members of his team. The meeting took place in the Oval Office. It lasted for a little more than an hour, probably about an hour and 10 minutes.

Q: This morning?

MR. McCLELLAN: This morning. He also recently retained a lawyer, Jim Sharp, who you all have reported about before. I would just say that -- what I've said previously, and what the President has said: The leaking of classified information is a very serious matter. The President directed the White House to cooperate fully with those in charge of the investigation. He was pleased to do his part to help the investigation move forward. No one wants to get to the bottom of this matter more than the President of the United States, and he has said on more than one occasion that if anyone -- inside or outside the government -- has information that can help the investigators get to the bottom of this, they should provide that information to the officials in charge.

And I think because this is an ongoing investigation that further questions are best directed to the officials in charge of the investigation.

Q: When did he actually retain Sharp? Meaning, when was he informed that this interview would take place?

MR. McCLELLAN: Recently.

Q: Like, when was this interview set up?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know the exact time when it was set up, but it occurred earlier today. But --

Q: Did the President answer every question put to him?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Mark, the President was glad to do his part to cooperate with the investigation. The President was pleased to share whatever information he had with the officials in charge, and answer their questions.

Again, I wasn't in the meeting. It was Pat Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney, and his team; the President and the President's lawyer, Jim Sharp. And that's why I said I think that it's best to direct further questions to the officials in charge, because this is an ongoing investigation and we want to do everything we can to help the investigation come to a successful conclusion.

Q: Scott, are you able to say that the President has no information as to who leaked --

MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on one second, Mark. Remember, the President directed the White House to cooperate fully and that's why I said he was pleased to do his part to help this investigation.

Q: Are you able to state that the President has no information as to who leaked the information regarding --

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, Mark, that's just getting into questions that are best directed to the officials in charge of the investigation. And I would not read anything into that one way or the other. This is an ongoing investigation. I think that the officials in charge would prefer that questions be directed to them.

Q: Was he under oath?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, it was an interview.

Q: Well, did the meeting end when there were no more questions, or did the White House end the meeting? Was there a limit --

MR. McCLELLAN: Keith, I don't think I would look at it that way, at all.

Q: Well, tell us how you'd look at it.

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I wasn't in the meeting. I told you how long the meeting occurred for, and you probably want to direct further questions to the officials in charge. But I would say that that would be wrong to characterize it that way.

Q: Well, let me ask this as a policy question. You said that the President sees this as a serious matter, anybody inside or outside who has information should disclose it. What does the President -- if someone in the administration did disclose this information, what action is the President prepared to take against that individual?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, now you're asking me to speculate about an ongoing investigation --

Q: No, no, I'm not. I'm just asking you to talk about what White House policy is.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I previously, I think, addressed that question. But the President --

Q: Well, could you just refresh my memory?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- this is an ongoing investigation and --

Q: Can you refresh my memory?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, this is an ongoing investigation, John, and I'm going to direct further questions to the officials in charge of the investigation.

Q: Yes, but this would be a White House matter. I mean, would the President fire a person if they had -- if it's found that they leaked this information? Would he admonish them, reprimand them -- what would he do?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that we made that clear previously -- I made that clear previously in briefings, you can go back and look exactly at what I said. It still stands.***

Q: Do you just want to reiterate it now, just so that we've all got it straight?

MR. McCLELLAN: John, I think you can refer further questions to the people in charge of the investigation.

Q: Scott, could you, for us -- I know that you may not know now, but can you, for us, find out when the President retained Sharp?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think I would just describe it as recently.

Q: Can you find out for us?

MR. McCLELLAN: I will look into it, but that's probably the extent to --

Q: The President of the United States is retaining a private attorney --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- how I would characterize it.

Q: I'm putting the inquiry in, then. When he retains -- the President is retaining a private attorney, we'd like to know what day it was.

MR. McCLELLAN: I appreciate that and if I have more on this, I'll let you know, I'll put it on the end of the gaggle transcript.

Q: Was Gonzales in there?

MR. McCLELLAN: No.

Q: No?

Q: Anybody else from the White House?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President and Jim Sharp.

Q: That's it?

Q: Do you know how many questions were asked?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, those are questions you need to direct to the officials in charge.

Q: And when --

Q: Can you --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me just repeat what I've said previously. This is an ongoing investigation. We want to see the investigation come to a successful conclusion. No one wants to get to the bottom of this more than the President of the United States. And that's why we believe it's best to direct questions to the officials in charge. If they have information that they are in a position to share with you and that would help move the investigation forward, I'm sure that they would.

Q: But that's just the technical question. If you can't tell us how many questions they asked because that's their matter, can you tell us how many questions the President answered, which --

MR. McCLELLAN: John, the extent of the readout I'm giving on the meeting is what I just -- is what I just walked you through. That's the extent to which I'm reading out this meeting. And I'm referring further questions to the officials in charge.

Q: Can you walk us, once more, through exactly this -- where was he and who was he with? Just his attorney, nobody else from the White House at all?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's correct.

Q: And who --

Q: Gonzales --

MR. McCLELLAN: No.

Q: Do you have any reason to believe there will be another interview, or is this it?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, all those questions should be directed to the officials in charge of the investigation.

Q: Fitzgerald -- any other people in the room?

MR. McCLELLAN: Pat Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney, and his team.

Q: But you can't say, two other lawyers --

MR. McCLELLAN: Ask those questions of the Justice Department.

Q: When did they notify the President?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?

Q: When did they notify --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the meeting occurred today, so it was recently. Again, the extent to which I'm reading this out is what I've given you. If I have more information I'll add it to the end of the gaggle transcript.

Q: And has the Vice President spoken with Fitzgerald?

MR. McCLELLAN: You can direct those questions to the Vice President's office.

Q: Scott, when the Vice President was interviewed he was told he's not a target of the investigation. Was the President explicitly told he's not a target?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, those questions you can direct to the Vice President's office. I'm not aware that they have publicly commented on any meeting that he has had.

Q: Does the President feel comfortable that he's not a target of the investigation?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, Dana, you should refer all those questions to the officials in charge. And I would hope that you would not read into that one way or the other, at all. I think that you all have been following this investigation and reporting on it, and I think you all have a sense of things at this point.

Q: Scott, was this interview in lieu of a grand jury appearance?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, that would be a good question to direct to the officials in charge. It was an interview in the Oval Office, and it's an ongoing investigation, Mark, and I think it's best that they address those questions.

Q: How was the interview memorialized? Notes, transcript, recording, video?

Q: It's on the mult. (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I told you who all was in the meeting. I was not in the meeting, and I told you I would keep you informed at the appropriate time, and that is what I'm doing. If there's more information I can provide you, I will. But I don't expect that there will be more information. I think you should direct all those questions to the officials in charge.

Q: We do know, though, that his interview with the 9/11 Commission was not taped or transcribed. Do you know if this one was taped or transcribed?

MR. McCLELLAN: John, this was a different circumstance, and you should direct those questions to the officials in charge. I think the Justice Department can probably tell you how interviews like this tend to work, so they can probably walk you through that.

Q: I would expect that it was tape-recorded.

Q: Is it fair to assume that when the President received the notification is when he officially and formally retained Mr. Sharp?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I would describe it the way I did, which he recently retained an attorney, Jim Sharp --

Q: And when did he receive the notification --

Q: -- had no need for an attorney until they --

MR. McCLELLAN: If I can provide you more specific information, I'll put it at the end of the transcript.

Q: When was he notified that they wanted to interview him?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, Norah asked that question, and I said if there's more information I can provide you on that, I will.

This is an ongoing criminal investigation. The President of the United States directed the White House to cooperate fully with the investigation. The President wants to get to the bottom of this, and he views the leaking of classified information as a very serious matter. You've heard him say that repeatedly. And that's why, in the spirit of helping this investigation move forward, we believe that the questions are best directed to the officials in charge of the investigation.

Q: Scott, a moot question. The President always says that he came here to change Washington and to change these kinds of things. Given that, how does he feel -- have you talked to him about how it felt to be interviewed in a criminal investigation in the Oval Office?

MR. McCLELLAN: I met with him right after the interview, and he said he was glad to do his part.

Q: How much time did he spend --

MR. McCLELLAN: Those were not his exact words, but he expressed to me that he was glad to do his part to --

Q: And no anger, no frustration about the fact that he was put in this position?

MR. McCLELLAN: No. The President of the United States wants to get to the bottom of this. He wants to see it come to a successful conclusion because of how serious a matter this is.

Q: Has the Vice President assured the President that neither he, nor anyone in his office had anything to do with this? You said that you received assurances last year from Lewis Libby and Karl Rove. Has the President received similar assurances from the Vice President?

MR. McCLELLAN: John, there's an ongoing investigation right now. Those questions are best directed to the officials in charge. Again, let me repeat, because there's an ongoing criminal investigation, and because we want to see them come to a successful conclusion, it's best that we refer further questions to the officials in charge.

Q: Was there an ongoing investigation --

MR. McCLELLAN: John, we can go through this -- we can keep going through this, but I think I've made it very clear.

Q: No, no, but -- let me just ask this. Was there an ongoing investigation at the time that you told us that Lewis Libby and Karl Rove had told you, assured you that they had nothing to do with this?

MR. McCLELLAN: You can go back and look at those comments. And at this point, the investigation is ongoing, and we're going to do -- the White House has been directed by the President to do everything to help the investigation move forward.

Q: Scott, how much time did the President spend preparing for the interview?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, Keith, if there's more information, I will put it on the end of the gaggle transcript. But I told you all I would keep you informed at the appropriate time; that's what I'm doing. And I don't expect that there will be much more information coming out from this office.

Q: Was it a big impingement on his time, or was it --

MR. McCLELLAN: He was glad to do it. He wants to see the investigation come to a successful conclusion. No one wants to get to the bottom of it more than he does.

Q: Did you say how long this whole thing took?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I said a little over an hour, probably about an hour and 10 minutes.

Q: What did Fitzgerald ask him?

MR. McCLELLAN: Did you come in late to this gaggle? (Laughter.)

Q: Yes, I left. (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: Someone fill him in. Someone fill him in.

All right, thanks.

END 12:25 P.M. EDT

*** From Scott McClellan's 9/29/03 briefing:

The President has set high standards, the highest of standards for people in his administration. He's made it very clear to people in his administration that he expects them to adhere to the highest standards of conduct. If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration.