Posted on 03/24/2004 12:07:26 PM PST by ConservativeMajority
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- A veteran CBS correspondent grilled the White House Tuesday about its role in delaying the publication of Richard Clarke's book critical of the Bush administration's handling of the al Qaeda threat before 9/11.
CBS correspondent Bill Plante peppered Press Secretary Scott McClellan with questions concerning the security review process that books by former administration officials must undergo to ensure that classified material is not made public.
Plante stated, "[Clarke] says that the book could have been published in December, but for the White House security review process."
McClellan responded, "His book went through the normal review process. This is standard practice to make sure that classified information is not inadvertently released."
"Dick Clarke could have released his book at any time, but the fact is he chose to release it at a time and in a way where he could maximize coverage to sell books, and at a time when he could have the impact to influence the political discourse," McClellan added. "That's very clear."
The press secretary went on to say, "If he had such grave concerns, he could have raised those a year ago when he was leaving the administration."
The CBS correspondent continued to press for a statement on when the book was cleared for publication, and McClellan shot back, "Keep in mind that his publisher put out that it would come out at the end of April."
He added, "He chose to release it at a time when he could influence the political discourse."
CBS has come under fire for failing to disclose that it has a financial interest in the book featured on its Sunday night news program "60 Minutes." The book, "Against All Enemies," was published by the network's sister company, Simon & Schuster.
Plante made no mention of any conflict of interest during his questioning of the White House.
Copyright © 2004 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
pfffffft ! If the White House had been inclined to do such a thing, they would have delayed it until after November 3rd, not in the thick of the campaign. Bill Plante is no novice political reporter, he has been around a long time and I wish Scott McClellan had said as much to him during that press briefing.
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