From today's Whie House press conference

"QUESTION: Scott, the President's father, as CIA director, when he
was dedicating the CIA, said at the time that outing an operative is
like one of the most insidious treasons.
MR. McCLELLAN: And the President has essentially said something to
that effect, as well. For a long time.

QUESTION: Okay. So why, two-and-a-half months ago when this became
public, what would have kept the President then from going to his
inner circle and directly asking each and every one of them whether
they were the source?

McCLELLAN: How many anonymous sources make all sorts of allegations
in the paper on a regular basis?

QUESTION: This isn't a routine allegation.

MR. McCLELLAN: Do you have specific information that suggests --

QUESTION: I know you're trying to turn this back on --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, no, I'm not trying to turn it back. I'm trying
to say that we should look at the facts, that if there's specific
information that you have -- I mean, all we know at this point is
they're anonymous sources. And it was not a White House name.

QUESTION: I know, but the fact that the name --

MR. McCLELLAN: Are we supposed to go throughout the entire
administration?

QUESTION: No, but as you said yourself --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, no, but are we supposed to, every time there's
an allegation in the paper, are we supposed to go pursue that
throughout the administration?

QUESTION: Anyone within your administration that would have access to
classified information, right, could have known this. What kept the
President, two-and-a-half months ago, from asking his staff --

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know that anyone who has access to classified
information could have -- I would direct that question to justice or
CIA about the people that would have access to classified information
of this nature.

QUESTION: Why did the President sit on his hands two-and-a-half-
months ago and not ask his staff?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry, I answered this question very clearly at
the time that it came up, and you need to go back and look at what I
said then.

QUESTION: But where was the outrage?

QUESTION: The President often says he gets his news not from reading
the papers or watching TV, but from aides because he's very busy. Do
you know if this was brought to his attention? Was he aware of this
on July 14th or 15th, or in that time frame, either by reading it
himself, or was it brought to his attention? I'm not asking you
whether he said anything should do anything about it, but was he
aware of this in a timely window --

MR. McCLELLAN: On July 14th?

QUESTION: When the Novak column came out, which I believe was July
14th. It was within that time frame.

MR. McCLELLAN: Call my predecessor. No --

QUESTION: Within a couple of days of that.

MR. McCLELLAN: John, I haven't even asked that question.

QUESTION: Scott, it seems like a good question to ask.

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?

QUESTION: That would be a good one if you can take it.

QUESTION: It's probably worth following up on.

QUESTION: When did he become aware of this?

QUESTION: Right.

MR. McCLELLAN: Sorry?

QUESTION: When did he become aware that --

MR. McCLELLAN: That there was an allegation that someone leaked
classified information? When was that first --

QUESTION: No, no, that an undercover official of the United States
government had been outed. When did the President of the United
States know that? When was he informed of that? And what was his
reaction? Where's the outrage, I think, was the question that was
asked.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the outrage has always been made known. If
someone leaks classified information -- are you -- when did --

QUESTION: When did the President know it, and what did he do about
it?

MR. McCLELLAN: When did someone make the allegation that this -- that
someone had leaked classified information?

QUESTION: On July 14th or 15th, it was clear that --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll look back at the timing and post the information
--

QUESTION: -- that the American taxpayer had invested a lot of money
in the undercover status of a woman who had been outed in the
newspaper. What did the President know that and what did he do about
it?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll look back at some of this and try to get some
information for you.

QUESTION: Scott, can you have something about how he was informed at
that time while you're doing that?

MR. McCLELLAN: I will look back at that time. Some of it was before I
became the press secretary, but I will look back at some of this
time."
http://tinyurl.com/pda8

--
"The privacy and dignity of our citizens [are] being whittled away by
sometimes imperceptible steps. Taken individually, each step may be
of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, there begins to
emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen -- a society in which
government may intrude into the secret regions of a [person's] life."
--Justice William O. Douglas

Tim
"Fair and Balanced"

QUESTION: When did the President know it, and what did he do about
it?

MR. McCLELLAN: I will look back at that time. Some of it was before I
became the press secretary, but I will look back at some of this
time."