For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 23, 2001
Press Briefing by Ari Fleischer
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
Listen to the Briefing
12:17 P.M. EDT
MR. FLEISCHER: Good
afternoon. I have a series of personnel announcements I'd
like to make. The President intends to nominate Donald J.
McConnell to be Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary of the United
States to Eritrea. The President intends to nominate Stephen
A. Cambone to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. The
President intends to nominate Cam Findley to be Deputy Secretary of
Labor. The final announcement, the President intends to
nominate Lori A. Forman to be Assistant Administrator for the United
States Agency for International Development for Asia and the Near
East.
That's the end of my opening, I'm prepared to
take your questions. Hearing none, thank you. (Laughter.)
Q Ari, I know 100 days
isn't your favorite benchmark for judging an administration, but since
people will be writing the story, can you give us your assessment of
the first 100 days?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I can give you
my assessment of the first 94. I think the President is very
pleased with several things: the changing of the tone in
Washington, D.C.; increasing sense of bipartisanship, certainly when
compared with the previous times; the success he's had substantively;
the Senate Education Committee having already passed his education
plan, his number one priority; his tax relief plan, and by that sense I
mean the marginal income tax rate cuts that have already been voted on
and approved by the House of Representatives; the reduction of the
marriage penalty as approved by the House of Representatives; the
elimination of death taxes is approved in the House of Representatives;
the doubling of the child credit.
Many items on the President's agenda are
already moving forward and are doing so at a very healthy pace,
particularly given the previous way as Congress
deliberated. And so the President is very pleased with
that.
He's pleased by, as I indicated, the
bipartisanship and the tone is changing. Toward that point,
on the 100th day, on Monday in the White House, the President will be
hosting a lunch for all 535 members of Congress to come
down. And the President views this as, as he would put it,
"our" first 100 days, not "his" first 100 days, because any successes
that are enjoyed as a result of passing his agenda are thanks to
members of Congress from both parties who worked with him to get it
done.
So just as he's done in Texas, where he
brought all members of the legislature together to commemorate the
first 100 days, he will mark the first 100 days of this administration
with members of Congress from both parties invited to the White House
for lunch.
Q Can I follow
that? Any disappointments, anything he would have done
differently?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I'll leave
disappointments, I'll leave things done differently to
others. I'll just describe to you the President's approach
to what he sees.
Q Ari, though, many of
the things you've listed simply made their way through the House, they
haven't yet been acted upon by the Senate. And negotiators
on the education package met over the weekend, long, long hours, not
any real sense of progress. The bottom line is there's not
anything from the campaign that he's been able to sit in the Rose
Garden and sign into law. Is he -- had he hoped to have done
that by now? Is he disappointed that he hasn't had the
chance to sign any of these landmark pieces of legislation?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, of course,
that's why it's an interesting measure, 100 days. Who chose
100? Why 100, other than the fact that it's a round
number? Many scholars have indicated that to measure
properly the legislative progress, being measured by a President's
signature, 180 days is the more accurate time
period. There's a lot of scholarly weight behind that.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of people who
are interested in 100 days, and so I'm going to take the questions and
give the best answer.
But I want to remind everybody here of
something that's very important. President Bush was elected
in an exceedingly close election, and people said that the President
does not have a mandate, that he won't be able to
govern. And I think what you're seeing here in these 100
days, because of the manner in which the President has toned it down in
Washington, because of the way he's reaching out and working with
others -- the education plan is a perfect example -- because of this
new approach to governing, a tremendous amount of progress has been
made within these 100 days. And the progress that is laid
out now is going to lead to more progress later. And that's,
again, one of the most encouraging factors of this first 100 days.
Q Do you think
Democrats agree that everything has been toned down in Washington, or
do you think it just might be the President's view?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think that's a
question you'd have to ask the Democrats.
Q Okay. But
also on this other point, you're going to leave any sense of
disappointment or things that could have been different to other people
-- does that reflect the President's view that he doesn't really have
any disappointments or think anything could have gone differently?
MR.
FLEISCHER: No. No. I just think it's a
reflection that this still is Washington, there may be some people
whose tones are slowly changing. And I would leave it to
anybody who wants to point out any other facts, that's their
prerogative.
Q Ari, well, isn't he a
little disappointed about relations with China and relations with
Russia haven't been doing so well either?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, on the foreign
policy front, the President is doing exactly what he indicated he would
do, which is bring a sense of realism to America's foreign policy, a
sense of cooperating with other nations where cooperation is possible,
and to the degree that there are differences, dealing directly with
those differences. It's an approach based on realism.
Q Ari, based on his
briefings, does the President believe what happened with this plane
being shot down in Peru was an isolated incident, a miscommunication in
this case, or is there a fundamental communication and respect issue,
if you will, of the Peruvians following the advice from the U.S.
people?
MR. FLEISCHER: Given the duration
of this program, which was authorized by statute in 1994, and given the
fact that this is the first such instance in which this has happened,
obviously, this is an isolated incident.
Nevertheless, the President did concur with
the decision to suspend the program immediately, pending the review of
how this could have possibly taken place.
Q Are you predicting
that all of the things that you've said were on the move -- whether
it's approved by one House or not, all of these are going to be
passed?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is
confident that his education plan will be passed into
law. The President is confident that his tax relief plan
will be passed into law. Of course, there will be some
modifications to it.
But one of the most encouraging things, and
one of the real signs, I think, that has surprised people and has
changed since perceptions last November 7th, is out of that very narrow
margin, the President has really set the agenda and moved Washington in
a direction that he ran on, in a direction that he thinks is good for
the country. And he's pleased with the success and the
support that it's received.
Q The President has
changed on a dime. He switched many things that -- he will
approve one, in 24 hours, in terms of the environment, and so
forth. So if you say he has a mandate, it appears that he
has a political sense that these things are not a mandate, or he
wouldn't change his mind every once in a while.
MR. FLEISCHER: Actually, I didn't
say he had a mandate. What I said is, that in an election
where people said he didn't have a mandate, one of the successes has
been that the President is clearly setting the agenda, where the policy
that he ran on are the policies being submitted to the Congress.
Q Every President has
that mandate. What do you expect?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think there was a
lot of questions after the election about, at the end of 100 days,
would President Bush be able to govern, would any leader be able to
govern after such a close election. And in these first 100 days,
President Bush is showing he clearly can.
Q He also has the
ability to change his mind about a lot of things, doesn't he?
MR. FLEISCHER: I think in the case
of several of the well-known examples, CO2, for instance, the President
acknowledged that he made a mistake during the campaign in saying that
we would seek mandatory reductions in CO2. So I think also
it's a sign of a President who can deal with things straight and
realistically, honestly. And if a mistake is made, he
acknowledges it.
But I think incidents like that are dwarfed by
the many successes he's had on the very issues on which he promised to
run and has honored the commitments he made.
Q It's not unique, you
know, to come in with an agenda.
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think it's a
sign of success, how the President has been able to carry forward his
agenda. And it is -- it is different, how much progress has
been made in the Congress at this early stage. Typically,
tax bills don't even move in the House of Representatives until later
in the year. So in terms of an historical measurement, there
has been tremendous progress made that is out of line with previous
progress.
Q It's being floated on
the Hill that the White House is ready to accept $1.4 trillion tax cut,
with spending less than 6 percent, a little less than 6 percent
increase in spending. Is that the case? Are you
guys about ready to --
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I'm not going
to entertain any negotiating from the podium. Suffice it to
say that in the upcoming conference between the House and the Senate on
the budget, the President is going to continue to push for a tax relief
plan as close to $1.6 trillion as possible, which is in accordance with
what the House of Representatives will bring to the
conference. And he will continue to make the case that we
need to reduce spending to levels that are reasonable, rather than have
spending increases along the lines approved by the Senate.
If the Senate spending increases are agreed
to, the surplus will be reduced by $3 trillion over the next 10
years. The President thinks that would be a mistake.
Q And in Peru, are you
aware of video and audio tape that captured what happened in the
incident?
MR. FLEISCHER: Ron, I have not seen
any such video/audio.
Q Are you aware that
any existed and do you know if it will be released?
MR. FLEISCHER: I would have to
check with all the appropriate authorities. As you know,
there sometimes are videos from missions, but I would have to check
with the people responsible for these missions to ascertain its
status.
Q Ari, given the
government's view that the Peruvian aircraft did not follow appropriate
procedures, as you have outlined earlier today, has anyone at any level
in the government complained to the Peruvian government about
this? Is there any challenge that's underway?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, Saturday
night, Foreign Minister Perez de Cuellar approached President Bush at
the reception in Quebec, and extended the sympathies of the Peruvian
government toward the United States, to the families. And
said that his government would help the families in any way that they
could. And there is now underway a Peruvian and American
fact-finding effort to determine the causes of it, and we're going to
continue to work constructively with Peruvian authorities to find out
how this terrible tragedy could have taken place.
Q Well, let me follow
on a couple of points. Was that an apology that was actually
delivered? Was there some admission of
culpability? And two, yes, there's fact-finding going on,
but there's already been determinations about procedures that were not
followed. So, in some ways, the United States government
appears beyond the fact-finding stage. So are complaints,
challenges, other things being lodged against the Peruvian government?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President took
what Perez de Cuellar said in a tone of sympathy. He
understood it to be a measure -- an expression of sympathy, and he
accepted it as such. As for the fact-finding, there will be
additional fact-finding underway. There continue to be some
discrepancies in the information that the United States is receiving,
and that should not surprise anybody. It's typical in the
case of accidents, particularly of this nature involving airplanes
flying over remote regions, where it takes a little bit of time until
all the facts can be thoroughly investigated and reviewed to make
certain that all information is 100 percent checked out.
Q Is there going to be
any kind of meeting to improve the communications setup with the
governments --
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I think the
program is suspended pending a review of all the facts that went into
this terrible accident, and the program has been a successful
program. Fighting the war on drugs is an important mission
of the United States government, and it has received bipartisan
support. And this is why this program exists under a public
statute that authorizes the agencies involved here -- DOD, CIA, State,
DEA -- to fight the war on drugs.
So this is a terrible
tragedy. Lives have been lost. And the United
States government is going to continue through all its agencies to work
with the Peruvian government to understand how it could have
happened. And after that, the government will be in a
position to review the program and make any determinations about the
future of the program.
Q As far as we've been
able to determine, did the crew of the U.S. surveillance plane follow
all procedures?
MR. FLEISCHER: According to the
information that we've received so far, that is yes. But
again, the facts continue to be gathered. Again, one of the
things that everybody -- go ahead, Ron.
Q Excuse me, but this
morning when you said that --you were asked if all the procedures were
followed, generally -- you weren't asked which country -- you said, no,
they weren't; from the information that we have, no, they were
not. So if U.S. followed all the procedures --
MR. FLEISCHER: Ron, obviously,
something went wrong and lives were lost. In a program that
is meant to fight the war on drugs, innocent lives have been lost.
Q And the procedures
that were not followed, were not followed by Peru, it was Peru that did
not follow the procedures.
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm going to suspend
on further evaluations of it until all information is received.
Q I just want to make
sure I understand it. This morning you said that all
procedures were not followed.
MR. FLEISCHER: Obviously.
Q But now you're saying
that the U.S. followed all procedures. The obvious
conclusion is that Peru did not follow all procedures.
MR. FLEISCHER: And I'm going to
reiterate that we are working constructively with our Peruvian allies
to determine exactly how this happened, what took place. And
we're doing so in an atmosphere of cooperation. And the
Peruvians expressed their sorrow about the accident. And we will
continue to investigate and gather facts in that vein.
Q You're not telling me
that I've reached a wrong conclusion, based on --
MR. FLEISCHER: I think I've
answered the question as best I can.
Q One more follow-up,
Ari. What about U.S. surveillance help to Colombia and other
countries? Have those flights been suspended?
MR. FLEISCHER: This is the only one
that I'm aware of that's been suspended, this program.
Q Ari, in making the
Taiwan decision, where do the scales tip for the President when he's
thinking about addressing the military imbalance across the Taiwan
Strait and looking at the possible ramifications to U.S.-China
relations? How does he tip those scales?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, he evaluates
the decision on the basis of the Taiwan Relations Act, which obligates
the United States to provide defensive weapons to
Taiwan. And the decision he makes will be in accordance with
what the United States and his national security team recommend as far
as Taiwan's defense needs.
Q And he hasn't seen a
recommendation yet?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, I indicated
earlier today he has received a recommendation.
Q Has he made a
decision?
MR. FLEISCHER: He will advise when
his decision is made, when it's made publicly.
Q Should this be
intended to send a signal that there is -- I mean, this is the first
substantive decision that will be made that relates to China's
objections to a serious matter of defense. Should this be
viewed as a kind of tipping point in the relationship between the
United States and China? Is it intended to send that
message?
MR. FLEISCHER: This decision is an
annual one; it has been faced by previous decisions ever since, I
believe, 1982. And so I think you can view this as an annual
occurrence that took place last year, it will take place next
year. It's part of an ongoing obligation of the United
States government to help Taiwan secure its defensive needs.
Q I understand all
that. But this is a much different context, and you
understand that.
MR. FLEISCHER: My point, it's not
in any different context. It's an annual review of Taiwan's
request for --
Q But previously you
said the President, of course, will weigh everything that's
gone on most recently in making his decision. So now you're
saying that, no, it's not in that context at all?
MR. FLEISCHER: Every President
since 1982 has made their decision about Taiwan's defense needs in the
context of events in that year dealing with Taiwan. It's
stating the obvious. Well, of course, the President is going
to consider all factors that go into Taiwan's defense
needs. That's the purpose of the Taiwan Relations Act --
that's one of the purposes of the Taiwan Relations Act.
Q Well, if this has
been done -- excuse the word -- "cutely" in the past, because of the
one China policy and the sensitivity of this issue, and the President
said in the campaign he wanted to be more candid about this, he just
wanted to put out his commitment to Taiwan more candidly. And there
are a number of senior officials in the administration who have signed
letters saying that the administration -- that U.S. administrations,
period, Republican or Democrat, should just make clear that the United
States would defend Taiwan if it were attacked. Is this
President preparing --
MR. FLEISCHER: It's always been the
United States policy, that continues to be the United States policy.
Q What's the timing of
the announcement, and does it conflict with the Lebanon President?
MR. FLEISCHER: The
timing? The Taiwanese delegation will be received by the
Department of Defense tomorrow, and they will receive the decision at
that time.
Q Have surveillance
flights over China resumed, Ari?
MR. FLEISCHER: That's an
operational detail that I'm not going to discuss from here.
Q Well, is the
President still reviewing that matter, as far as you know?
MR. FLEISCHER: It's an operational
matter I'm not going to discuss.
Q One more on China,
please. Is the U.S. actively fighting to gain the release of
any of these Chinese-American scholars? What is it, six now
that are in prison?
MR. FLEISCHER: The United States
has made it very plain to China that we consider these detentions to be
wrong, and we have called on China to release them. The
State Department has been in contact with Chinese officials about this
on a very regular basis.
Q Yesterday the
Washington Post reported that three of the -- it was actually nine --
Mississippi counties where blacks are a majority, all of them voted to
retain the Confederate battle flag as the state flag, for which a Post
columnist named Malloy questioned whether these black voters are
"insane." And my question is, does the President believe
this about these black voters, or does he believe that the Post is
sometimes extremist? And I have a
follow-up. (Laughter.)
Q Do you want to answer
this one? (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: I must have missed
the Post that day.
Q You didn't read the
Washington Post -- you don't read the Washington
Post? (Laughter.)
MR. FLEISCHER: Is there anybody
from the Washington Post in the room? (Laughter.) What's
your follow-up?
Q Does the -- the Lone
Star flag led thousands of Confederate troops into battle for four
years, and the Star-Spangled Banner was the flag of a slave nation for
89 years. Does the President believe that these two flags
are inappropriately flown, or not?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the Lone Star
flag was flown over the state of Texas during the Governor's tenure; I
think you know where he stands on that.
Q And also about the
Star-Spangled Banner -- it was, as you know, a slave flag for 89
years.
MR. FLEISCHER: And your question
is?
Q Does the President
believe that that should be -- how does he stand on this battle flag
issue in Mississippi? How does he stand, Ari?
MR. FLEISCHER: On that matter, as
in all matters that are up to votes in states, that's a matter for the
states.
Q Ari, Joe Lieberman
says that he has been attempting to get documents from EPA and other
administrations to, as he sees it, explain some of the President's
environmental decisions. He says he's been unable
to. Two questions: why can't he? Is
the President adopting Clinton administration tactics on
documents? And does it feel that the President's
environmental decisions are easily defensible by releasing these
documents?
MR. FLEISCHER: Wendell, that's a
question you need to address to the agencies. I don't have
the facts about what the agencies are doing. I know that the
agencies work very hard to cooperate with Congress in all cases, but
that's a question and the specifics of it best addressed at the agency
level.
Q Did the President
request the agencies to accommodate Senator Lieberman's request?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President at all
times asks his agencies to work in close cooperation with the
Congress.
Q Ari, another question
on the environment. What's the state of play on drilling in
ANWR?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's
position on opening up a small portion of ANWR for oil development is
unchanged. The President believes that our nation needs to
develop more energy resources domestically in order to avoid worsening
the current energy crisis. And toward that end, an energy
proposal that will be shortly submitted from the Vice President's task
force will include a provision calling for opening up a small portion
of ANWR for energy development.
Q So was Administrator
Whitman out of the loop yesterday when she indicated that this was not
going to be part of that report?
MR. FLEISCHER: No, I think
yesterday afternoon Administrator Whitman addressed that question and
indicated just as I said. I think there was some confusion
in the early morning, as a result of a newspaper story or magazine
story, and then that confusion was resolved.
Q Wait a
minute. She was on Face The Nation yesterday; she said,
somebody made the decision somewhere, but as far as our report goes, we
don't specifically say you must drill in ANWR. We don't
recommend that to the President. But we will be recommending
a range of choices.
MR. FLEISCHER: And as you know,
following that statement, through the Administrator's Office, she
followed up on that statement and provided information to --
Q Well, why was she
misinformed to begin with? She's been in all these
meetings.
MR. FLEISCHER: As I said, there was
some confusion yesterday morning, which was cleared up as a result of
the statement that her office made later in the day.
Q Ari, how do you guys
plan to handle the arms sale announcement tomorrow? And I'm
wondering if at 12:35 p.m. on Monday, has the President made any
decisions on the arms sale?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, there always
comes a moment when the decision that the President wishes to convey
will be conveyed by the President, not by his spokesman. And
we will work with you on whatever that procedure may be.
Q Ari, if I can go back
to Peter's question, am I to understand that the Vice President's
recommendation is that this country's energy security depends on
opening, as you put it, a small portion of ANWR to oil exploration and
drilling?
MR. FLEISCHER: The energy program
that the Vice President is working on is a comprehensive program that
is going to suggest a variety of means to secure America's energy
freedom, and to develop more resources at home. That will include a
focus on renewables. It will include a focus on
conservation. It will include a focus on the development of
America's resources, including opening up a small portion of ANWR.
So it is going to be multi-faceted and
approach the energy problem from a variety of fronts, both in terms of
production and in terms of conservation.
Q Has there been a
decision made yet if the fundraiser Wednesday night in Arkansas will be
open to the press?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'll get you all the
details on that shortly.
Q But has there been a
decision made?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'll get you the
details as soon as its final.
Q Will you let the sun
shine in? (Laughter.)
Q Ari, is the President
aware that it's 400 degrees in the briefing room, and did he sign off
on that decision? (Laughter.)
Q Briefing room
warming.
MR. FLEISCHER: I thought that was
somebody here's attempt to get me off the stage as fast as they could.
Q Is this related to
the gassing of the press corps on Friday night? (Laughter.)
Q Or global warming?
MR. FLEISCHER: Or food poisoning on
Air Force One. (Laughter.)
Q Ari, since fighting
drugs is such an important part of the U.S. government, when are we
going to get an official appointment of a drug czar, or head of the
anti-drug --
MR. FLEISCHER: On that topic, that
fits into the area of personnel. And as you know, we will keep you
advised on all personnel appointments.
Q Some of the people
involved in the drug war are saying today that they're afraid that the
drug traffickers themselves are going to be the beneficiaries of this
suspension of these flights. Does that concern extend here?
MR. FLEISCHER: Again, the facts are
being gathered. And I can't comment on the duration of
operations. The President thinks it's important to ascertain
exactly what took place, and then make any determinations. The
agencies will look at it. But this has been a successful
program. This has been a good program to help win the war on
drugs. And drug trafficking in Peru has dropped markedly
since the program began.
So it's a question of
balancing. And obviously any time a life is lost, it's a
tragedy. Also, in fighting the war against drugs, many lives
have been saved as a result of the steps that have been taken by the
United States government. And so it's a question of finding
that appropriate balance. And the President thinks it is
appropriate to suspend the operations until we can gather the facts in
regard to what's happening with this one program with Peru.
Q -- is he going to
take advantage of this break?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not in a
position to evaluate that. I think you need to talk to DEA
or somebody else about that.
Q Ari, can I go back to
Taiwan, and try one more time. The Chinese have said some
pretty blood-curdling things about what would happen if he approves the
Aegis Destroyers. Are you telling me that the President
doesn't even take that into consideration when he makes his decision?
MR. FLEISCHER: The President's
decision will be based on what Taiwan -- what he judges as Taiwan's
defense needs require. That will be the criteria the
President uses. I would remind you that there have been
strong statements made previously pertaining to this annual
event. And in the case of this President, his decision will
be based on the factor I just said.
Q So he does not take
into account the larger needs of U.S. policy and stability in the
region -- it's purely the Taiwan Relations Act?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'll remind you
again, this is an annual event that has taken place, where the
President makes his decision based on a variety of
factors. And this will be one of them.
Q Ari, there's been a
perpetual vote in Japan, and the clear leader is Koezumi for the next
Prime Minister. Any reaction to the new Prime Minister in
Japan?
MR. FLEISCHER: I don't have
anything for you on that, at this time.
Q Ari, does the
President have any reaction to the decision made by Admiral Thomas
Fargo, of the Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, that the Commander, Scott
Waddle, will not be court-martialed for the collision with the Ehime
Maru, especially given the apologies as expressed by the President,
himself?
MR. FLEISCHER: Let me take your
question and see if there's anything to get back to you on that.
Q On the issue of
drugs, although production has declined in Peru, it seems that it may
have just shifted elsewhere. A lot of it shifted to
Colombia. Is this going to encourage the President to have a
larger reassessment of drug policy in light of the fact that these
flights have now stopped, as well?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think it's a
little early to come to those type of conclusions. Again,
this accident just took place and we're still gathering the facts about
it. But I would hesitate to get into any broader policy
implications as a result of this.
Q Ari, you have said
the only flights that have stopped are the ones in Peru,
right? All other flights, as far as you know, are still on?
MR. FLEISCHER: The United States
still has ongoing missions to fight the war against drugs.
Thank you, everybody.
Q Ari, one last thing
on the environment. How did Administrator Whitman get
confused Sunday morning?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think there
was an account in a news magazine that suggested a fact, and as that
was evaluated, it was clear that the fact as suggested was not
accurate. And so I think that she suspended until she was
able to verify that information.
Q Well, why did the EPA
Administrator read something in a magazine and not know it was
inaccurate?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, actually, she
didn't read it in a magazine. She was presented with one
reporter's version of another reporter's work. And as you
know, any time that happens, it's always best just to accurately assess
the information, which is exactly what EPA did, and released that
information later in the afternoon.
Q But doesn't she have
access to all of the decisions that have been made, and wouldn't she
have -- she should have known what the --
MR. FLEISCHER: As I indicated,
there was confusion created as a result of the question, as a result of
what had been brought to her attention. And I think she
readily clarified it.
Q But does she have
copies of everything, and has she been in every -- all of the
meetings?
MR. FLEISCHER: She's a participant
in the task force, as you know, and has been doing a very good job as a
member of the task force.
Q You believe in what
reporters tell you, don't you, Ari? (Laughter.) No
comment?
MR. FLEISCHER: I know there are no
mistakes.
END 12:44 P.M. EDT
|