But something changed when McClellan found out he had been duped by Rove and Libby in his October of 2003 assertion that they had not been involved in the Valerie Plame leak. I talked to him about it in his office one day, and while he didn’t give away outward emotion, I could see in his eyes that something had shifted. He had been hung out to dry and he did not appreciate it one bit.
McClellan remained the loyal soldier, but from that day forward, you could see that he no longer believed. That betrayal of trust was much deeper than anyone, including myself could have imagined. His criticism of the White House and the president — extraordinary for a former press secretary — runs the gamut from the CIA leak to an “unnecessary” war in Iraq to Bush’s “lack of inquisitiveness.” I have never known a press secretary to be anything more than mildly critical of his or her former boss. Scotty has very nearly set fire to the building.
And in expected fashion, White House officials, current and former have cranked up the machine to destroy his credibility, dismissing McClellan as ‘out of the loop’, suggesting he was basically a flack and not really a part of the president’s inner circle. Perino even called him a ‘sad’ figure. In the past, the White House has flensed its turncoats with the expertise of a 19th century New England whaleman. Just ask Paul O’Neill or Richard Clarke — former Bush loyalists who dared to transgress the unwritten code.
But I have a sense this time will be different. McClellan is stating the now obvious — the accepted — the widely believed. A minority of Americans think the Iraq war was necessary. A court of law has ruled that Scooter Libby lied. And there’s pretty good reason to conclude that Rove only escaped prosecution by the skin of his teeth.
So the problem with the White House taking the long knives to McClellan is this: With the benefit of hindsight, more reasonable people are likely to believe him than those who denounce him.
more:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/28/roberts-white-house-says-not-the-scott-mcclellan-we-knew/ANd I'd love to know what he told Fitzgerald's grand jury and how it differs from he book.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed he had testified to the grand jury investigating the leak as part of a federal investigation led by US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.
Joe Wilson, whose wife was named, now works for Democrat John Kerry
Adam Levine, a former administration press aide, also appeared at the inquiry, his lawyer told the New York Times.
Mr McClellan said: "I'm just doing my part to co-operate fully with the investigation.
"The president has made it clear that no-one wants to get to the bottom of it more than he does."
Sources said to be involved in the case were quoted by the Washington Post as saying other witnesses included Mr Rove, Mr Libby, former Cheney adviser Mary Matalin, White House communications director Dan Bartlett, former press secretary Ari Fleischer and Cheney press aide Cathie Martin.
more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3474981.stm
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