White House Still Quiet on Bush Leak Authorization

News:

One day after the revelation that Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s leaking of classified information to the media was not only authorized, but ordered by President Bush, the White House continued its silence on the matter. And while a consensus has begun to form that the unorthodox move was technically within Bush’s power, the president’s history of statements related to the leak case present yet another front on which his credibility will now be under attack, at a time he and his party can ill afford more scrutiny. The administration may try to wait out the storm in silence, explaining themselves by proxy through anonymous statements from “senior officials” who point out that such a leak doesn’t break the letter of the law; what they’ll be more hard-pressed to explain is how the president reconciles his behavior with his tough talk on the problem of leaks in government, saying in 2003, “There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. There's leaks at the executive branch, there's leaks in the legislative branch, there's just too many leaks.” Questions about the court filings had White House spokesman Scott McClellan dancing as fast he could at this morning's briefing, returning time and again to the administration's boilerplate refusal to comment on ongoing legal proceedings (except when it serves their interests).