Chain of Deceit: McClellan Dances To Cover Cheney's Lies

Wow, I'm going to have to get a database going just to keep track of all the Bush administration lies, who's telling them -- and hopefully with the ability to cross-reference for multi-source fabrications.

Here's White House Press Secretary Scott "The Lyin' King" McClellan at today's press briefing saying that Vice President Dick Cheney is always honest with the American people:

Q: Does the Vice President always tell the truth to the American people?

McClellan: Yes.

Q: The President then stands by the Vice President's account in September of --

McClellan: I think it's a -- frankly, I think it's a ridiculous question, Terry, because --

Q: Well, no, we now have reports that there are documents that directly contradict the public statement of the Vice President of the United States.

McClellan: Reports. The Vice President, like the President, is a straightforward, plainspoken person.

But that's not true.

Because, as McClellan knows, we're now finding out that Vice President Cheney's chief of staff I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby did not hear about the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame from a journalist, but from Cheney himself. This occurred a few weeks before Plame's CIA cover was blown in June 2003.

Aside from the fact that it looks like Libby lied – in saying that a reporter and not Cheney had told him about Plame – it appears that the Vice President has been caught publicly lying about the whole affair. And, according to today's New York Times story, Mr. Cheney knew very well who Plame's husband, Ambassador Joe Wilson was as well. After all, it was Wilson's questioning of the administration's handling of intelligence about Iraq's nuclear program that was the primary reason for outing the CIA officer.

But here's the Vice President -- in the instance the reporter was trying to cite to McClellan -- on Meet The Press with Tim Russert on September 14, 2003 acting like he's never heard of Wilson:

Russert: Now, Ambassador Joe Wilson, a year before that, was sent over by the CIA because you raised the question about uranium from Africa. He says he came back from Niger and said that, in fact, he could not find any documentation that, in fact, Niger had sent uranium to Iraq or engaged in that activity and reported it back to the proper channels. Were you briefed on his findings in February, March of 2002?

Cheney: No. I don’t know Joe Wilson. I’ve never met Joe Wilson. A question had arisen. I’d heard a report that the Iraqis had been trying to acquire uranium in Africa, Niger in particular. I get a daily brief on my own each day before I meet with the president to go through the intel. And I ask lots of question. One of the questions I asked at that particular time about this, I said, “What do we know about this?” They take the question. He came back within a day or two and said, “This is all we know. There’s a lot we don’t know,” end of statement. And Joe Wilson—I don’t who sent Joe Wilson. He never submitted a report that I ever saw when he came back.

So there may be difference of opinion there. I don’t know what the truth is on the ground with respect to that, but I guess—like I say, I don’t know Mr. Wilson. I probably shouldn’t judge him. I have no idea who hired him and it never came...

Russert: The CIA did.

Cheney: Who in the CIA, I don’t know.

So in the White House press briefing room today, we have the president's official spokesman lying to cover for the fibs of the Vice President – which is all, in turn, meant to cover for the lies that led to the war in Iraq.

Where are all of the conservatives now, who crowed so loudly about Bill Clinton's lie about his personal life and where is their indignation over this?