By: E&P Staff At the White House press briefing today, many of the questions concerned Karl Rove, President Bush's deputy, who testified today (for the fourth time) before the federal grand jury probing the Plame case. Early on in the session, at least two reporters asked Press Secretary Scott McClellan whether the president still had full confidence in Rove, even apart from the grand jury troubles. McClellan failed to answer flatly, referring the reporters instead to previous statements he had made on this matter.
Still trying, another reporter returned to the subject later, setting up this exchange:
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Q Scott, I just have two quick follows to some questions that were asked earlier. One, are you trying -- are you saying that, CIA leak aside, you can't say that the President has full confidence in Karl Rove?
MR. McCLELLAN: Maybe you didn't hear what I was saying earlier. I said, what I said previously still stands.
Q What did you say previously? You say that all the time.
MR. McCLELLAN: You can go back and look at it. I'll be glad to share the transcript of when that question came up last time.
Q Either he does or he does not. So he does have full confidence?
MR. McCLELLAN: We've already addressed that, Jim.
Q Why can't you repeat it?
Q But why can't -- if you've addressed it, why can't you repeat it for me? Clearly --
MR. McCLELLAN: Why do you have to keep asking a question that I've already answered when --
Q Because I don't know the answer.
MR. McCLELLAN: No, because you're asking in the context of an ongoing investigation. And it's very easy to go and look at our transcripts and pull that information --
Q That's why I said -- that's why I said, "set the leak aside," just in general are you refusing to --
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. And I said I stand by what I said previously.
Q Okay, topic two, since you won't answer that question.
MR. McCLELLAN: I did answer that question.
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