Scott McClellan
Scott McClellan | |
|---|---|
 Scott McClellan in the press room of the White House | |
| 25th White House Press Secretary | |
| In office July 17 2003 – April 26 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Ari Fleischer |
| Succeeded by | Tony Snow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 14, 1968 Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
Scott McClellan (born February 14, 1968) is a former White House Press Secretary (2003-2006) for President George W. Bush.
On April 19, 2006, McClellan announced that he would be leaving the Administration; he remained in the position until replacement Tony Snow was announced on April 26, 2006.
Family
Born in Austin, Texas, McClellan is the youngest son of Carole Keeton Strayhorn, former Texas State Comptroller and former 2006 independent Texas gubernatorial candidate, and attorney Barr McClellan. McClellan's brother Mark McClellan headed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and formerly was Commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration. McClellan is the grandson of the late W. Page Keeton, longtime Dean of the University of Texas School of Law and renowned expert in tort law.
Career
After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin, where he was president of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Texas Alpha Chapter, McClellan was the three-time campaign manager for his mother. In addition, he worked on political grassroots efforts and was the Chief of Staff to a Texas State Senator.[citation needed]
Karen Hughes, Governor Bush's communications director, hired McClellan to be Bush's deputy press secretary. McClellan served as Governor Bush's traveling press secretary during the 2000 Presidential election. McClellan became White House Deputy Press Secretary in 2003. McClellan replaced Ari Fleischer, who stepped down as White House Press Secretary on July 15, 2003. McClellan announced his resignation as Press Secretary on April 19, 2006. Many newspapers at the time reported that McClellan was forced to resign due to the Valerie Plame issue and handling of Hurricane Katrina relief.[citation needed] On April 26, it was announced that Fox News pundit Tony Snow would succeed him in the position.
Involvement in Plame Affair
At a press briefing on October 10, 2003, McClellan asserted that the allegations of Karl Rove's and Scooter Libby's involvement in the leak of CIA Valerie Plame's identity were false.[1] However, in excerpts from his book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception, published in the spring of 2008 by Public Affairs Books, McClellan revealed that the statements he had made were untrue.[2]
The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby. There was one problem.
It was not true.
I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the president himself.
— Scott McClellan, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception, 2008.[3]
Book
McClellan unexpectedly and harshly criticized the Bush administration in his 2008 memoir What Happened. In the book, he accused Bush of "self-deception"[4] and of maintaining a "permanent campaign approach" to governing rather than making the best choices.[5] McClellan stopped short of saying George Bush purposely lied about his reasons for invading Iraq, writing that the administration was not "employing out-and-out deception" to make the case for war in 2002,[6] though he did assert the administration relied on an aggressive "political propaganda campaign" instead of truth to sell the Iraq war.[7] His book was also critical of the press corps for being too accepting of the administration's perspective on the Iraq War[5] and of Condoleeza Rice for being "too accommodating" and overly careful about protecting her own reputation.[4]
The Bush administration responded through Press Secretary Dana Perino, who said, "Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. We are puzzled. It is sad. This is not the Scott we knew."[8]
References
- ^ Press Briefing by Scott McClellan. Office of the Press Secretary. 2003-10-10.
- ^ Mitchell, Greg. 'Politico': Scott McClellan Hits White House in New Book. Editor & Publisher. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ McClellan, Scott (2008). What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception. Public Affairs Books. ISBN 978-1-58648-556-6.
- ^ a b Bumiller, Elizabeth (2008-05-28). "In Book, Ex-Spokesman Has Harsh Words for Bush". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Allen, Mike (2008-05-27). "Exclusive: McClellan whacks Bush, White House". The Politico. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Shear, Michael D (2008-05-28). "Ex-Press Aide Writes That Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ "Ex-aide Scott McClellan rips Bush's Iraq 'propaganda'". Associated Press. 2008-5-28. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Loven, Jennifer (2008-05-28). "White House calls McClellan's book sour grapes". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
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External links
- "Personnel Announcement (announcement of McClellan's promotion to Press Secretary)" (Press release). Office of the Press Secretary, The White House. June 20 2003.
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- "President Thanks Fleischer, Taps McClellan as New Press Secretary (remarks from President Bush)" (Press release). Office of the Press Secretary, The White House. June 20 2003.
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- "White House Press Briefings by Date - [[2005]]" (Press release). The White House.
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- Associate Press (May 19, 2006). "Text:President Bush and Scott McClellan (McClellan's resignation)". San Francisco Chronicle.
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- Doyle, Leonard (22 November 2007). "Former aide accuses Bush on CIA leak". The Independent.
And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the Vice-President, the president's chief of staff and the president himself.
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