“We want to restore honor and integrity to the White House.” — George W. Bush, 2000
“It is absolutely essential for us to do whatever has to be done to restore honor and integrity to the Oval Office.” — Dick Cheney, 2000
“Should I be fortunate to become your president, when I put my hand on the Bible, I will swear to not only uphold the laws of the land, but I will also swear to uphold the honor and dignity of the office to which I have been elected, so help me God.” — George W. Bush, 2000
“I expect every member of this administration to stay well within the boundaries that define legal and ethical conduct. This means avoiding even the appearance of problems.” — George W. Bush, 2001
“I don’t know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I’d like to know it, and we’ll take the appropriate action…. There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. And if there is leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is.” — George W. Bush, September 2003
“If anyone in this administration was responsible for the leaking of classified information, they would no longer work in this administration. This is a very serious matter. The President made it very clear just a short time ago in the East Room, and he has always said that leaking of classified information is a serious matter. And that’s why he wants to get to the bottom of this.†— White House Spokesman Scott McClellan, October 2003
“President Bush offered only a stony silence today when he was asked if he planned to fire Karl Rove, a senior aide at the center of an investigation over the unmasking of an undercover C.I.A. officer.†— New York Times, July 2005
“Long after President Bush warned that anyone in his administration who leaked classified information would suffer the consequences, a new federal court filing asserts that it was Bush himself who authorized release of once-classified intelligence about Iraq’s purported weapons of mass destruction in the summer of 2003.
Former vice presidential chief of staff Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, who was indicted on obstruction of justice charges in the broad investigation of the leaked identity of a CIA officer, has testified that Bush authorized him to release ‘relevant’ parts of a National Intelligence Estimate to offset criticism of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, according to court documents filed Wednesday….
Bush declined to comment Thursday when a reporter called out a question to him.” — Chicago Tribune, April 2006
“This is a very significant disclosure. This is big. They owe all of us an explanation, all of us who trust him, and they owe the American people an explanation.” — Republican Representative Ray LaHood, April 2006
