NBC News again omitted preconditions for White House interviews

Written by Brian Levy

Published


On the March 26 edition of NBC's Today, NBC News correspondent John Yang reported that President Bush and congressional Democrats are “still at odds over whether top Bush aides like [White House senior adviser] Karl Rove will testify under oath” regarding the controversial firing of eight U.S. attorneys. But Yang omitted the numerous other preconditions stipulated by the Bush administration for allowing Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers, and other current and former staff to be interviewed by congressional committees investigating the firings. Further, in characterizing the conflict over the White House demands as a fight between “the president and the Democrats on the Hill,” Yang ignored the prominent Republican senators who have expressed concern with the preconditions, including Sen. Charles Grassley (IA), who made a point of noting his “aye” vote to authorize the Senate Judiciary Committee to issue subpoenas of White House staff.

Yang described the dispute over the interviews as pertaining to whether White House officials “will testify under oath,” but he omitted the additional demands laid out by White House counsel Fred Fielding in his March 20 letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees:

  • that interviews be conducted behind closed doors;
  • that they not be televised or transcribed;
  • that there be no “subsequent testimony”;
  • that no subpoenas be issued following the interviews;
  • and that committee members ask no questions concerning internal White House communications.

Further, the dispute is not simply between “the president and Democrats on the Hill.” Indeed, at least three Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have objected to or criticized the White House's preconditions. As Media Matters for America noted, on March 22, after the Senate Judiciary Committee approved authorizing subpoenas for Rove, Miers, and White House deputy counsel William Kelley, Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) noted: "[T]he Senator from Iowa, Senator Grassley, says he wants the record to show he voted 'aye.' " In a subsequent press release, Grassley explained his vote: “I wanted to express my support for getting the facts out on the table.”

During the March 22 Judiciary Committee meeting, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said: “I think it is indispensable that there be a transcript so that we know what has been said.” Specter reportedly was silent during the voice vote to authorize subpoenas. Additionally, in a March 22 article, Congressional Quarterly noted that another Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. John Cornyn (TX) “has said he, too, would like transcripts of interviews.” The article reported that Cornyn left the meeting prior to the committee vote on subpoenas.

As Media Matters noted, on the March 21 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash reported that Cornyn said that “if there is going to be information provided, it best be provided in public.” On the same program, Specter was shown saying: “It would be very helpful to have a transcript. My own preference would be to have it open, so that people see what is going on.”

In his recent reporting on the attorney scandal, NBC News chief White House correspondent David Gregory -- who guest-hosted the March 26 edition of Today alongside co-host Meredith Vieira -- has repeatedly omitted the White House preconditions, including on the March 20 broadcast of NBC's Nightly News, as well as on the March 22 and 23 editions of Today.

From the March 26 edition of NBC's Today:

YANG: Gonzales first said the dismissals were entirely handled by his chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, but a newly released email indicates Gonzales took part in a meeting on the firings 10 days before they occurred.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): It is the third contradiction now that comes from the attorney general.

YANG: Lawmakers hope to get some answers this week when Sampson testifies under oath.

[end video clip]

YANG: And, of course, the president and the Democrats on the Hill, still at odds over whether top Bush aides like Karl Rove will testify under oath. David.

GREGORY: John Yang at the White House this morning. John, thanks very much. And, of course, a lot riding on the testimony of Alberto Gonzales before Congress.