Tuesday, February 14, 2006
ONE MORE BEFORE BEDTIME: After serious contemplation, I'll have to say Ari Fleischer got the hell out of Dodge at the right time.
Q Was it Cheney's gun? Is that his gun, that shotgun?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
Q Was it the Vice President's gun?
MR. McCLELLAN: You ought to talk to the Vice President's Office and check that fact.
Q You don't know?
MR. McCLELLAN: You can check with their office.
<...>
MR. McCLELLAN: Suzanne, go ahead.
Q Katherine Armstrong talked to CNN Sunday evening. She said that she thought this was going to become a story, so she was going to go to the local press. She also told CNN that she did not believe the Vice President's Office was aware that she was going to go to the local press. How do you square that with your account that they were coordinating their --
MR. McCLELLAN: The Vice President spoke with her directly and they agreed that she would make it public.
Q So you're saying that she is lying, that her statement is not correct?
MR. McCLELLAN: No. You ought to check with her.
Q Well, we did check with her. So you're saying that's not correct?
MR. McCLELLAN: The Vice President spoke directly with Mrs. Armstrong and they agreed that she would make the information public.
Q Scott, it's getting very confusing to try to figure out who knew what when, and why, you know, once Mr. Whittington's immediate medical needs were being addressed, it sounds like everything just shut down. Was there no staff member with the Vice President --
MR. McCLELLAN: No, actually, as I pointed out, there was information that was coming into people back here, all the way at 3:00 a.m. in the morning and beyond. So additional information was coming to light from what occurred down in the Corpus Christi area of Texas.
Q Over the roughly 12 hours or so, none of that information -- it took 12 hours for someone to tell someone up here that the Vice President had fired the weapon?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, Jim, keep in mind two things. One, the very first priority was making sure Mr. Whittington was getting the medical care, and that's where all efforts were focused. There wasn't a press corps traveling with the Vice President, he didn't have his full entourage that he might have on other trips, official trips. This was a weekend hunting trip. And then, secondary to that is gathering the facts. And so you want to get the facts together so you can provide that information to the public. And I think that's important to do, and so they gathered facts together and those facts were coming back to us throughout the evening and into the morning hours of Sunday.
Q Who was gathering the facts? Who was doing that?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think there's the information on the ground there, as well as information then being provided -- from the ground there being provided back here.
Q Right, and who was doing -- who was doing the providing, and who were they providing it to?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, people with the Vice President's Office. I think you can probably -- I would check with his office on more specifics.
Q So when did the President definitively know that the Vice President had shot somebody?
MR. McCLELLAN: He was learning additional details into that evening on Saturday --
Q It wasn't a detail that it was the Vice President that pulled the trigger? When did that detail --
MR. McCLELLAN: We didn't know the full details, but I think he was informed because Karl -- I think his Deputy Chief of Staff had spoken with Mrs. Armstrong and provided him additional update that evening. So there were more circumstances --
Q Deputy Chief of Staff Rove talked to --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- known Saturday evening. So the President was getting more information about who was involved, and that was late Saturday evening.
Q So he knew Saturday evening? Scott, definitively, did the President know or --
Q -- the question.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- some additional information, yes, and the Vice President --
Q -- or hear that it was the Vice President?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and that the Vice President was involved, but didn't know the full facts of what had occurred.
Q How is that possible?
Q He did know -- wait -- details here. Scott, he knew Saturday night?
MR. McCLELLAN: Carl, go ahead.
Q Straight chronological questions. We don't have to yell it.
Of course, that's just a sample...you can read the full transcript of Monday's press briefing and see if you still envy Scot McClellan's job.
Q Was it Cheney's gun? Is that his gun, that shotgun?
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?
Q Was it the Vice President's gun?
MR. McCLELLAN: You ought to talk to the Vice President's Office and check that fact.
Q You don't know?
MR. McCLELLAN: You can check with their office.
<...>
MR. McCLELLAN: Suzanne, go ahead.
Q Katherine Armstrong talked to CNN Sunday evening. She said that she thought this was going to become a story, so she was going to go to the local press. She also told CNN that she did not believe the Vice President's Office was aware that she was going to go to the local press. How do you square that with your account that they were coordinating their --
MR. McCLELLAN: The Vice President spoke with her directly and they agreed that she would make it public.
Q So you're saying that she is lying, that her statement is not correct?
MR. McCLELLAN: No. You ought to check with her.
Q Well, we did check with her. So you're saying that's not correct?
MR. McCLELLAN: The Vice President spoke directly with Mrs. Armstrong and they agreed that she would make the information public.
Q Scott, it's getting very confusing to try to figure out who knew what when, and why, you know, once Mr. Whittington's immediate medical needs were being addressed, it sounds like everything just shut down. Was there no staff member with the Vice President --
MR. McCLELLAN: No, actually, as I pointed out, there was information that was coming into people back here, all the way at 3:00 a.m. in the morning and beyond. So additional information was coming to light from what occurred down in the Corpus Christi area of Texas.
Q Over the roughly 12 hours or so, none of that information -- it took 12 hours for someone to tell someone up here that the Vice President had fired the weapon?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, Jim, keep in mind two things. One, the very first priority was making sure Mr. Whittington was getting the medical care, and that's where all efforts were focused. There wasn't a press corps traveling with the Vice President, he didn't have his full entourage that he might have on other trips, official trips. This was a weekend hunting trip. And then, secondary to that is gathering the facts. And so you want to get the facts together so you can provide that information to the public. And I think that's important to do, and so they gathered facts together and those facts were coming back to us throughout the evening and into the morning hours of Sunday.
Q Who was gathering the facts? Who was doing that?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think there's the information on the ground there, as well as information then being provided -- from the ground there being provided back here.
Q Right, and who was doing -- who was doing the providing, and who were they providing it to?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, people with the Vice President's Office. I think you can probably -- I would check with his office on more specifics.
Q So when did the President definitively know that the Vice President had shot somebody?
MR. McCLELLAN: He was learning additional details into that evening on Saturday --
Q It wasn't a detail that it was the Vice President that pulled the trigger? When did that detail --
MR. McCLELLAN: We didn't know the full details, but I think he was informed because Karl -- I think his Deputy Chief of Staff had spoken with Mrs. Armstrong and provided him additional update that evening. So there were more circumstances --
Q Deputy Chief of Staff Rove talked to --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- known Saturday evening. So the President was getting more information about who was involved, and that was late Saturday evening.
Q So he knew Saturday evening? Scott, definitively, did the President know or --
Q -- the question.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- some additional information, yes, and the Vice President --
Q -- or hear that it was the Vice President?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and that the Vice President was involved, but didn't know the full facts of what had occurred.
Q How is that possible?
Q He did know -- wait -- details here. Scott, he knew Saturday night?
MR. McCLELLAN: Carl, go ahead.
Q Straight chronological questions. We don't have to yell it.
Of course, that's just a sample...you can read the full transcript of Monday's press briefing and see if you still envy Scot McClellan's job.
|| Eric 2:06 AM#
