Opinion: Scott McClellan doubts Karl Rove would testify truthfully
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Our colleague Johanna Neuman is keeping an eye on Scott McClellan‘s testimony today before the House Judiciary Committee, and reports that McClellan was uneasy about I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby‘s assurance that he had nothing to do with the leaking of Valerie Plame‘s name as a CIA agent.
McClellan testified that former White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. asked him to announce that Libby (pictured) wasn’t involved, similar to what McClellan had already done on behalf of Karl Rove. ‘I was reluctant to do it,’ McClellan said. ‘I got on the phone with Scooter Libby and asked him point-blank, ‘Were you involved in this is any way?’ And he assured me in unequivocal terms that he was not.’
Libby gave a similar assurance to federal investigators, and eventually was convicted of lying to them.
The committee has also asked Rove to testify about the Plame leak, something McClellan suggested might not be fruitful because he doubted Rove would be truthful about it. ‘I would hope that he would be willing to do so,’ McClellan said. ‘Based on my own experiences, I have some doubts. He lied to me.’
-- Scott Martelle
