Something very strange is happening. I was watching Moday’s White House Press Briefing and near the beginning — Scotty said something very very interesting.
It was not directly related to what David Gregory (from MSNBC) was asking, so Gregory missed it. Apparently, everyone else did as well.
Here’s the excerpt with my emphasis:
Q Scott, let me just follow on that point. When the President made the decision to get the NIE out there, to make it public, for the reasons that you stated, was he aware at that point that information would be leaked to a reporter?
MR. McCLELLAN: David, that’s getting into this ongoing legal proceeding, and you shouldn’t read anything into it one way or the other when I say I just cannot comment on an ongoing legal proceeding. I’ve seen reports —
Q There’s been reports about —
MR. McCLELLAN: Hang on, hang on. I’ve seen reports, including today, in The New York Times, talking about this very issue that you bring up. I read that story with great interest, just like many of you in this room did. I would say that I cannot speak to whether or not the parts of that National Intelligence Estimate may have been declassified at some point prior to the release of the National Intelligence Estimate that we made on July 18, 2003.
And let me back up. The entire portion of the National Intelligence Estimate that was released on July 18th went through a declassification process. And I spoke to that issue back on July 18, 2003, and I’ll stand by the remarks I made at that time. I have had a chance to go back and look further at information from that time period and I will leave it where I did. But again, I cannot speak to whether or not certain parts of it may have been declassified prior to that time.
Q But you’re not challenging that report?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I just cannot speak to it because of the ongoing legal proceeding.
O.K. First of all, Scotty said something very different on July 18th, 2003 (again, emphasis mine):
Q Why, Scott, was the cable that was — that derived from the debriefing of Joe Wilson not included among the declassified documents?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we always want to share as much information as we can. There is some classified information that — well, there’s some information that remains classified for national security reasons. But we felt that this information — which is what the State of the Union statement was originally based on — was important to share with the American people, because it could be declassified.
Q When was it actually declassified?
MR. McCLELLAN: It was officially declassified today.
Q Just today?
Do you see the discrepancy?
On Monday, Scotty simply said that it was “released” on July 18th. However, on July 18th, Scotty said that it was “officially declassified” that day. Even a reporter was surprised. “Just today?” they replied.
Now, there seems to be two possibilities here:
1. Scotty is trying to rewrite history.
2. Scotty is saying that there were TWO instances of declassification.
I don’t think he’s trying to rewrite history because he states very carefully on Monday that he spent the time to go back and look at what he said on July 18th, 2003.
I’ll stand by the remarks I made at that time.
Now notice that he makes it a point to say this TWICE:
I cannot speak to whether or not certain parts of it may have been declassified prior to that time.
Why can’t he speak about it? What’s so different about speaking about declassification that occurred before July 18th and on July 18th? Why couldn’t a bloody reporter with half a brain ask Scotty if he was referring to another declassified portion made by the president or…
MADE BY VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY.
If you’ve read my earlier diaries, you’ll know that my suspicions lie here. I am pondering whether or not the Vice President actually declassified portions of the NIE — and it was these portions that were leaked to Miller and Woodward.
I am also pondering if the Vice President erroneously thought that under Executive Order 13292, he thought he had the power to declassify these documents. Is the Vice President in serious legal jeopardy here?
This gets more and more interesting!