It has been a busy day in Congress today and while our movement for
accountability for the Bush/Cheney White House just took a major
leapforward
with the testimony of former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan,
we
also unfortunately took a terrible step backwards with the tragic approval
of
new FISA legislation. I voted against this awful FISA law that degrades
the
privacy guarantees of our Constitution.
McClellan's Testimony
What we heard from Mr. McClellan was confirmation under oath of what we
have
long suspected: the President, Vice President, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby
and
others purposefully conspired to mislead Americans for political gain and
at
the cost of the lives of our soldiers, the security of our nation, and the
sanctity of our Constitution.
Today, Scott McClellan said that he considers it a likely possibility that
Vice President Dick Cheney was the person who authorized the leak of
Valerie
Plame Wilson's covert status. Mr. McClellan also said that he believes
more
White House officials should come before Congress and reveal the truth
about
this Administration's actions.
McClellan's testimony underscores a simple reality:
We must dig deeper. As I said today in the Judiciary Committee hearing,
the
facts we know now are more than enough to justify impeachment hearings for
President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney. You can read my
entire testimony today below.
There is no higher agenda than protecting the Constitution. The
Separation of
Powers principle is being threatened, our Civil Rights are under attack,
and
must pursue accountability no matter what the political cost.
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The FISA Vote
Today I voted against the so-called FISA "compromise" bill, as the only
thing
that is really being compromised is our civil rights.
In spite of the earnest, hard work of many Members of Congress, the
President
has continued to demand that Congress rubber-stamp his illegal wiretapping
program.
Every American wants to protect our country from terrorists; but the
President
is not asking for tools to thwart terrorists. He is demanding unchecked
power.
He expects the Congress to throw out even the most modest, expedited court
review on the absurd premise that a specially designed court with over 30
years of experience handling surveillance requests is suddenly going to
bring
our nation's intelligence operations to a standstill.
The rights of everyday Americans are at issue here, and full
accountability
needed. A court that is given full and appropriate review of the
particular
cir***stances in each case is the only appropriate venue for making
decisions
about immunity for actions that may or may not have violated the civil
liberties of some individuals.
In addition, while I am sympathetic to the difficult position telephone
and
Internet service providers, who may have thought they were doing their
patriotic duty, the fact remains that I simply cannot sup****t offering
retroactive immunity. I have had the op****tunity to view some of the
do***ents
in question, and I can say that my position on this subject is unchanged.
I will continue to sup****t the March 14th House bill that preserves the
appropriate court review of all surveillance of US citizens and gives
judges
the discretion to review all the necessary do***ents related to telecom
lawsuits without offering blanket immunity.
Continue Our Fight for Accountability
I also want to thank the thousands of Americans who sent emails to the
South
Florida Sun-Sentinel defending my position in favor of impeachment. I can
assure you I will not back down.
In fact, over the next week I will appearing on numerous television
programs
where I intend to raise these issues as often as I can. You can see me on
the
following television shows:
• Sunday, June 22nd at noon (EST) on CNN's Late Edition,
• Tuesday, June 24 at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm (EST) on Hardball on MSNBC,
• Wednesday June 25 at 3:30 pm (EST) on CNN's the Situation Room,
• Thursday June 26 at 11:30 pm (EST) on Comedy Central's the Colbert
Re****t
• Friday June 27 at 7:30 am (EST) on MSNBC's Morning Joe.
I am grateful for your continued sup****t and advocacy.
Congressman Robert Wexler
TEXT OF REP WEXLER AND SCOTT MCCLELLAN DURING TODAY'S HEARING
Robert Wexler: Thank you Mister Chairman, thank you Mr. McClellan, for
appearing before this committee today. Your book raises many questions
about
the administration that is incapable of telling the truth and, in your
words,
avoids accountability. I want to focus on how and why Scooter Libby came
to
reveal the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. From
everything
we know about this administration, it is inconceivable that Mr. Libby
would
have acted alone. It is essential we learn who ordered or gave permission
to
Mr. Libby to expose the identity of this covert agent. The president and
vice
president have denied ordering this illegal leak, but logic and the chain
of
command dictates that it must have been one of them. Mr. McClellan, in
your
book you state that you cannot believe President Bush authorized the leak
of
Valerie Plame Wilson’s status as a covert agent. It is unimaginable to
you
that the President, one of only two people who had the authority to give
Libby
the go-ahead to make this leak, actually did it. So who does that leave
us?
The Vice President. You do not defend Mr. Cheney in your book; in fact,
the
lack of faith you express in the Vice President in your book is striking.
Why?
Scott McClellan: Well, he is someone who keeps things pretty close to the
vest, to say the least. I do not know what his thinking is or what his
involvement was in this whole episode. I think that Patrick Fitzgerald
stated
it well when he talked about the cloud that was remaining over the Vice
President’s office because of Scooter Libby’s actions that lead to his
conviction on four counts, I guess, but there’s a lot of suspicion there
because there are questions that have never been answered, despite the
fact
that we said at some point we would address these issues.
Wexler: So this suspicion leads you to believe that Vice President Cheney
could have authorized Mr. Libby’s leak?
McClellan: I can’t rule it out, and I think that Scooter Libby in his,
some
testimony that he’s talked about, it’s possible that he could have first
learned about her from, or that the Vice President could have even asked
him
to get that information out.
Wexler: Well, thank you for your candor, Mr. McClellan. Your suspicion
or
the doubts that you raise fit in very nicely to what it is we do know. We
do
know Mr. Cheney has been deeply involved in the efforts to cover up the
leak
and exonerate Mr. Libby. We know Mr. Cheney called you to have you
unknowingly lie to the American people about Libby’s involvement. We know
that the Vice President wrote a note where he starts to write and then
crosses
out the fact that the president himself asked Libby to stick his neck into
a
meat grinder to protect the administration. It is clear to me that Mr.
Cheney
is the only one left; the only likely suspect to have ordered the leak.
If
Mr. Cheney really thought Libby was innocent, then his note would have
likely
said something like “We need to protect this man who has done nothing
wrong.”
But that’s not what Mr. Cheney’s note said. The Vice President’s own hand
betrays him and Libby, and implicates the President of the United States.
These facts and your testimony, Mr. McClellan, are more than enough in my
view
to open up impeachment hearings. Furthermore, the President’s use of the
pardon power to deflect an investigation into his own wrongdoing by
granting a
commutation to the man who may have lied for him, would constitute an
abuse
and crime of the highest order. And we must determine on this committee
conclusively whether or not this happened. Thank you, Mr. McClellan, for
exposing some of the lies that were propagated by this White House. But
unfortunately, as you have said, I believe as well, others in this White
House
have been blocking access to the truth. It’s time we sweep away the bogus
claims of executive privilege and get Karl Rove, Andy Card, and others
before
this judiciary committee. We have the power of inhering contempt, and if
need
be, we should use it. Mr. McClellan, what you have provided today for the
American people is enormously im****tant. You are the first high official
in
this administration to come before this Congress and offer us a glimpse
into
the truth. I commend you for being here today.
McClellan: Thank you Congressman. I do believe it’s im****tant for the
American people to have the truth.
Paid for by "Wexler for Congress"
PO Box 810669
Boca Raton, FL 33481
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