AP News, January 30th, 2007
Former presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer reminded Washington on Monday why he was considered one of the city's most unshakable spinmasters.
As calm on the witness stand as he ever was at the White House briefing lectern, Fleischer deftly deflected questions from defense attorneys. It was almost like he was back at the White House 2- 1/2 years ago, parrying questions from reporters.
Fleischer's testimony was the most damaging yet in the perjury trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He looked every bit the man who knows what it's like to have each word dissected, fact-checked and pushed back for clarification.
Fleischer, who once refused to acknowledge that different sections of Iraq face different challenges by saying, "Iraq is Iraq," seemed completely at ease as Libby's defense attorney quizzed him on details and challenged his facts.
He even offered defense attorney William Jeffress a primer on briefing the White House press.
"They challenge everything you say," Fleischer said. "They don't take it at face value."
When the Bush administration first said al-Qaida was to blame for the 2001 terrorist attacks, Fleischer recalled, one reporter called out, "Prove it."
Even under oath and without the cover of "no comment," Fleischer could not be rattled. The spokesman who stayed on message for a White House known for closely guarding its secrets came to court Monday to tell a story and never wavered from it.
Fleischer testified Monday that Libby told him over lunch that the wife of a prominent war critic worked at the CIA. Fleischer said the conversation happened July 7, 2003, days before Libby told investigators he was surprised to learn about the CIA operative from a reporter.
That discrepancy is at the heart of Libby's perjury and obstruction trial and defense attorneys were eager to question Fleischer's credibility.
Fleischer rarely deviated from his script. When Jeffress pointed out apparent holes in his story, Fleischer calmly sewed them up.
Occasionally, he turned to jurors directly to explain himself. Once, he even sought to keep defense attorneys on one subject when they wanted to move on.
"Can I say something?" Fleischer politely asked the judge, who shook his head.
True to his reputation, Fleischer offered few behind-the-scenes glimpses of the Bush administration. On Friday and early Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney's former spokeswoman, Cathie Martin, described for jurors how the White House sought to manipulate the news media. Fleischer was circumspect.
He briefly described the hectic atmosphere of mid-2003, when the White House stood behind, then backed away from certain prewar intelligence on Iraq. "The worst place to stand as press secretary is where the ground is shifting," he said.
His acknowledgment that he discussed CIA operative Valerie Plame with reporters highlighted his often strained relationship with them.
"Like a lot of things I said to the press, it had no impact," he testified.
Fleischer got an immunity-from-prosecution deal in exchange for cooperating with investigators but expertly deflected questions about was promised in exchange for that deal.
"The only way I'd know about that is based on conversations I had with my lawyers," Fleischer said, casually invoking the attorney-client privilege, which allowed him, once again, to clam up.
