Rove touted Russert question on Clinton library docs based on falsehood
SUMMARY: On Hannity & Colmes, Karl Rove referenced a question posed by Tim Russert to Hillary Clinton during the October 30 Democratic presidential debate, in which Russert stated: "[T]here was a letter written by President Clinton specifically asking that any communication between you and the president not be made available to the public until 2012. Would you lift the ban?" In fact, President Clinton did not ask that such communications "not be made available"; he listed them as documents to be "considered for withholding."
On the December 11 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, Newsweek contributor Karl Rove asserted that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) "gets asked by Russert about the secret documents that she and President Clinton have attempted to hide at the library, and she gives a mealy-mouthed response." Rove made a similar claim in a December 3 Financial Times op-ed that he discussed during the segment. In that op-ed, he stated: "Take the exchange in the Philadelphia debate about Bill and Hillary keeping documents hidden about her role as first lady in his White House. She was evasive." At the October 30 Democratic presidential debate, NBC News Washington bureau chief Tim Russert asked Clinton: "[T]here was a letter written by President Clinton specifically asking that any communication between you and the president not be made available to the public until 2012. Would you lift the ban?" In fact, as Media Matters for America has noted repeatedly (here, here, here, here, and here), in his letter, President Clinton did not ask that such communications "not be made available," but rather listed them as documents to be "considered for withholding" [emphasis added].
As Media Matters has also noted, in a November 2 statement, reprinted on the Daily Kos blog, William J. Clinton Records representative Bruce Lindsey said that rather than prohibiting the release of communications between Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton had merely designated such communications as part of a "subset" of presidential records "that should be reviewed prior to release."
From the December 11 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:
ROVE: As I said in the article, my first piece of advice was stop being a vitamin-deficient Adlai Stevenson. I mean, the guy [Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (IL)] -- she gives him these openings and he just -- he can't take her on effectively. He has in the last couple of weeks started to. And I think that's part of his rise. But he has missed some big ones.
Philadelphia, as I cite in the article, is the biggest example. She gets asked by Russert about the secret documents that she and President Clinton have attempted to hide at the library, and she gives a mealy-mouthed response. He speaks next -- Obama speaks next -- and he can't bring himself to turn to her and say, Senator Clinton, with all due respect, you and your husband could make those documents available tomorrow if you wanted to, and your failure to do so raises some real doubts in people's minds as to what you're hiding, and those doubts will cause our party problems if you're our nominee in the fall. So please, for the sake of our party, sake of our country, change course.
SEAN HANNITY (co-host): But you added one other part of that, too. And that is that he should have turned to her and looked at her directly.
ROVE: Right.
HANNITY: And said it, not in a confrontational way, but in a forceful way.
ROVE: Right, right.
HANNITY: The words you used at one point were that he needs to sharpen his attack and make those attacks more precise against her.
HANNITY: "And said it, not in a confrontational way, but in a forceful way."
Use force, but don't confront?
My head hurts.
I can only think of the Frost-Nixon interview that could possibly eclipse the nation's focus and interest anymore than a Hannity-Rove sitdown.
Riveting.
Somehow I don't see a great play being made out of the Hannity-Rove thingy, like they've recently done with the Nixon-Frost interviews.
But I could be wrong. I am on occasion.
Funny, in a funny strange kind of way not funny ha-ha, that Rove is talking about Hillary withholding the "secret" documents. I mean, this coming from a guy who was the key string puller in an administration that has set new records for secrecy, and what they don't tell us.
I seem to recall that during the Bush administration, documentation that was formerly available for review by, well, anyone, was revoked, and re-classified as secret for no apparent reason whatsoever. I have a friend who was doing some research for his history PhD, and he told me that before Bush took office, he could obtain this certain set of documents, and had made copies because it was pertinent to what he was writing on at the time (don't ask me what it was, because I really don't remember), but then when he went back to look up the same documentation last year, as he had lost his copies, he couldn't get it any longer. Why? Bush administration had re-classified something that was de-classified 20 some odd years ago. Odd? Yes, indeed.
Anyway, as stated in the above story, Clinton's papers are being reviewed, and believe it or not republicans, this takes time. I mean, they're still going through Regan's stuff, probably still going through GHW Bush's stuff, and still sifting through the paperwork of Carter I'm sure. Reviewing millions of documents take a whole bunch o' time.
SAVE DEMOCRACY, VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!
Did you know that Karl Rove's father was a frequent "cover model" for body piercing magazine, including a full cover of his genitals!
I think his father seems a bit bizarre, but Karl certainly one up his dad in that department!
Anybody know if he is stil seeing that Jeff Gannon?
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
ugh! After reading your post, Dan, I've got to take my brain out for a wash, rinse and spin. :)
Did you know that Karl Rove's father was a frequent "cover model" for body piercing magazine, including a full cover of his genitals!
TMI...TMI....TMI
rove the traitor and outer of undercover operatives, and conservative darling.
Bruce Lindsey said that rather than prohibiting the release of communications between Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton had merely designated such communications as part of a "subset" of presidential records "that should be reviewed prior to release."
So...umm...review them and release them then. There is nothing involving national security since she had no official position in the administration:
"Hillary negotiated nothing and was present at no major meetings on foreign policy and national security" -Jonathan Alter
Face it folks, we all know there is damning info about Troopergate, Juanita Broaddrickgate, Gennifer Flowersgate, Kathleen Willeygate, Priveate Detective Intimidationgate, Travelgate, Monicagate, WhitewaterGate, Pardongate, Chinagate, Illegal Contributionsgate, Rose Law Firm recordsgate, Vince Fostergate, Cattle Futuresgate, Illegal Auditgate, Craig Livingstonegate, Illegal FBI Filesgate...
...my fingers are getting tired from typing about the Clintoon scandals...I'll have to finish later
SAVE DEMOCRACY, VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!
The Stranger, eh?
I see all those "scandals" and several of them had Independant Prosecutors that investigated for years, spent tens of millions of dollars, prosecuted the innocent to influenance their investigations against the President, leaked for political gain, and CAME UP WITH ONLY A DIRTY DRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have endured a Bush Administration that has tossed the idea of the Rule of Law, and that nuissance, the Constitution, or our Bill of Rights, and most of the international treaties we have violated, tortured foriegn combantants, spied on Americans, outed CIA agents for political revenge, ..........
Ok, I don't want to go on, and on accept to say; only a Special Prosecutor that found guilty a Chief of Staff in the Vice Presidents office, only to have clemency offer by the President before he would have to serve his sentence, clearly obstuction of justice, was what happened when one Special Prosecutor, not a more powerfull Independant Special Prosecutors that ran amok on the Clinton's and found jizz on a dress, on nothing else.
Which the Republicans found to be Impeachable! They did not find the violatation of the oath of office every day and every way for 7 years of the Bush Administration worth even a Senate or Congressional Investigation or hearing!
The Stranger is a Schmuck!
Happy Thougths;
Dan Grady
In addition to all the other things that 'Ol Danny is lying about, pretending didn't happen or just plain ignoring is the fact that semen on the semi-retarded, chubby little intern's dress was proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that the fat, hick former President lied in one of the investigations of one of many sexual assault allegations against him.
He tried to rape Paula Jones and he lied repeatedly during the investigation.
He should be in prison .
He should be in prison .
So should about 2/3 of the current misadministration.
He tried to rape Paula Jones and he lied repeatedly during the investigation.
This one is getting old. I haven't been able to post because of a busy schedule but this one I had to. First of all "stranger" apparently you are a complete staranger to the facts even on your side. Jones never even claimed this nosense- it was a bunch of garbage fabricated by the media to hype the story of a woman to give her accusation more amp.
Her story as she told it herself in a interview was that she was working at a convention that Governor Clinton was at ans was told she was to go to his room and she thought it was to work but according to her he was there in the buff. She turned him down and left the room. She admitted that Clinton only made a pass at her. That was what the whole harressment suit was about in her words, her story.
How rape ever got interjected in this whole mess is beyond me. My GOD if making a pass at a woman is rape there would be whole lot of you guys behind bars right now. I could have put my own husband behind bars when we first met. After all he was my supervisor at work at the time and he made it quite apparent that he wanted to get me in the sack and a couple of others at work also. They were all good natured guys.
After the incident in the motel room, Jones also admits that she was never approached by him agian and she was able to continue with her career and recieved promotions and raises as normal. That was the reason that her case was dismissed time after time but somehow always managed to get back in. There was no evidence of sexual harrassment under the legal definition let alone this bogus claim of rape. He made a pass and she turned him down according to Jones herself. That was the extent of the incident. Even in the Lewinsky case it was a consenual relationship-- No sexual harresment- no rape. Flowers- consensual- no harressment- no rape.
If Right wing nuts are going to continue to called him a rapist Then the media needs to demand the evidence. This defamantion of Character. There is no evidence of rape but yet you idiots have the gall to act like it is.
I find this unethical consider my cousin was in fact raped. I also have a friend who spent alot of money trying to get out of charges that was brought by a women he barely knew because he wrote a TThrowing around bogus rape charges is a disgrace. Until a GOP wing nut can document where BIll Clinton was guilty of raping anyone then they should be called out for such nonsnese. It is undermining the efforts of Women who are really raped in getting justice and people like Jones make a mockery out of women who have to suffer REAL sexual harressment.
Yes Bill Clinton is a skirt chaser- big deal. I know alot of men who are and they have yet to rape on woman.
Sorry< correction
My friend was accused of rape by a women he worte a speeding ticket to as a police officer. He almost lost his career and everything becasue the only thing the town heard was the rape charge. The only thing that saved him from going to prison was the night of the so called rape he was on duty and not even in the same area of the parking lot she claimed the rape occurred and the fact that it was a bank parking lot and the idiot forgot that the security cameras would have picked it up. The reviewed the tapes and her car was there that night, she got out walked aroun got back in the car. My friend was no where around.
The Stranger get over it! Signing statments, waterboarding, starting a war based on lies, destruction of torture tapes, starting war based on lies causing the destruction of a nation and the killing of hundreds of thousands of people costing so far over a half-trillion dollars,destruction of e-mails, unpresidented use of executive privalege,politicization of the justice department resulting in the resignation of A.G.,Katrina, and you want to talk about a stain on a dress! AMAZING!
Signing statements...BFD...they've been happening for decades
So has waterboarding...and it works!!
Destruction of tapes that included tactics...yes waterboarding too.. that were endorsed by Pelosi, Rockefeller, Harmon, et al..was done to protect the CIA agents because the Dems would have given them to the terrorists
The war wasn't started on lies...heck even Clintoon endoresed taking him out..
the war hasn't cost hundreds of thousands of lies...that's just another left wing lie.
destruction of emails to purge a system backlog..absolutely
I think you meant "unprecedented" use of executive priviledge...which Clintoon actually used more often..
Clintoon actually started the politiciztion of the justice department when he fire all the attorneys at the beginning of his crime spree ..er, I mean term...to head off the investigations that were sure to follow his crimes..
Bush caused Katrina?
"Waterboarding works." That's all that matters, right "Stranger?"
Of course, it doesn't always work, but that is beside the point.
Of course, it is torture, but that is beside the point.
Of course, we lose respect throughout the world for doing it, but that is beside the point.
Of course, it potentially puts our own soldiers in greater danger should they get captured, but that is beside the point.
It is certainly true that other methods of interrogation, that aren't torture, are more successful at getting reliable information, but that is beside the point.
The end justifies the means, and that is all that matters, right "Stranger?"
Utter crap. The world is laughing at us because waterboarding is child's play compared to what they do.
It is not torture. It does work. It has saved thousands and thousands of lives
Of course, it potentially puts our own soldiers in greater danger should they get captured,
You mean they might be waterboarded instead of being decapitated?
Hmmm...tough call, that one.
SAVE DEMOCRACY, VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!
- The Stranger / Thursday December 13, 2007 05:16:29 PM EST
Stranger than just strange!
Happy Thoughtsy;
Dan Grady
Why is this Bush apologist on this site. Aren't there plenty of right-wingnut sites for him to visit?
The Stranger my oh my what a poor lost soul. I won't even bother to reply to all your non-sense since you didn't factually respond to mine. I think you meant lives in your post, but what the heck you just came on this site to talk s### not have a meaningful dialogue,therefore I'll just consider the source,next time you post,even the present administration is not using the rationals you use as defence. I think your speaking from a orafice other than your mouth,tell me how did you manage to get your head so far up your butt?
You're right, of course. Being a school teacher I thought I could make a logical, intelligent argument and stimulate some thought. It sometimes works with my teenage students!
i would be interested to your response to the fact that the stranger brought up about pelosi and rockefeller being quite aware of waterboarding as early as 2002, yet not raising a notable objection.
also at least one of the three people waterboarded before 2003 held a head while on video. you can probably find the killing of daniel pearl somewhere still. go watch that and see if you are still angry that he got choked with water for a little while... after which he spilled out information leading to at least two arrests of major al queda threats. i think that waterboarding is awful, but i think it's worse to see people strapping bombs to their one year old child. if you have a better plan to extract information, lets hear it.
What's wrong is wrong. The political party of whoever supports torture is irrelevant.
I am not in the military. For me to suggest a "better plan" on how to extract information would be ludicrous. What I hear from John McCain and what seems to be the vast majority of our military people is that waterboarding/torture is exactly the wrong thing to do for a number of reasons, and I believe them.
what seems to be the vast majority of our military people
You'll have to give me their telephone numbers so I can talk to all of them also.
Do you have unlimited minutes on your calling plan?
I won't even bother to reply to all your non-sense since you didn't factually respond to mine.
Well, at least we both agree that what you type is nonsense.
"The Stranger" = TROLL.
Smug, arrogant, snide, hateful and deeply, profoundly and utterly wrong about everything.
It requires reading only a couple of your rants to determine that "we all know" that you know nothing. Most strange, indeed. Most sane people would be more hesitant to display such a damning degree of malevolent ignorance.
hey obama, perhaps sandy berger has some extra room in his pants.
Ugh! Krooked Karl Rove pollutes the Fox News studios with his lies. This neo conman has no shame. And what's worse, Silly Sean likes this guy.
But media insiders know that Sean has an attraction to bad boys anyway: Rudy Giuliani, Patrick Buchannon, Mark Furhman, Dick Morris, Hal Turner, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Ted Nugent, Neal Boortz, Mark Levin, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, and the list goes on.
Unfortunately, this won't be the last time Krooked Karl shows his phoney face on Fox News Channel.
This turkey should be picking up the shower soap for three consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. Rove is responsible for the raft of manufacturing the false allegations on randomly abducted Arabs, kidnapping them, and then torturing them into confessions for his own goons' crimes.
One acquitted and mistrial for the six others in an FBI allegation they plotted to blow up the Chicago Sears Tower (Source: Associated Press 12/14/07, story by Curt Anderson)
1. Compounding the demolition mayhem of the WTC with a reversal on the first false alibi of aircraft impacts. Soliciting the 9-11 false pretenses in another permutation as likely or remote possibility within the accuseds' wherewithal.
2. Attempting to blame the same set of circumstances on others for a scape goat in case people might think terrorists pyrotechnically demolitioned the Twin Towers.
3. Entrapment to frame the 7 for the above two counts using a $50,000 bribe.
You can take your flag pin off now Bill, but you don't want people telling you what you can do with it.
Isn't this the same pattern we see in the destroyed CIA tapes, you know why they're defrauding the pretense of torture now don't you? It's to coerce false confessions from those they need to frame in order to cover their own crimes up. They need an acknowledged, spoken affidavit from someone they drug and beat to a pulp (just like in the movie: the good shepherd). Congress outlaws waterboarding (that's another evasion tactic to avoid impeachment) it's already got laws on the book to put away that whole administration.
The ignominy of that racist party and regime's inhumanity will not stand in this America, or it will tear everything down with it.