With a criminal probe heating up into who exposed an undercover CIA agent, the White House spokesman is fending off sharp questions about what role U.S. President George W. Bush's top political adviser may have played in the case.
The White House spokesman faced sharp questions not only about Rove, but also about his own statements in the nearly two-year-old criminal probe.
In 2003, McClellan said it was "totally ridiculous" to suggest that Rove played any role in the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity. He also said Bush has insisted that his staffers cooperate with the investigation by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, and that anyone responsible would be fired.
"You stood at that podium and said that Karl Rove was not involved, and now we find out that he spoke about Joseph Wilson's wife," one reporter said. "So don't you owe the American public a fuller explanation?"
"There will be a time to talk about this, but now is not the time to talk about it," McClellan replied.
Damn. Some people are going to get fired for this, but Rove certainly won't get the jail he deserves.
