Ari Fleischer
Encyclopedia
On May 19, 2003, he announced that he would resign during the summer, citing a desire to spend more time with his wife and to work in the private sector
. He was replaced by deputy press secretary Scott McClellan
on July 15, 2003.
case
; he testified that Scooter Libby
, Vice President Dick Cheney
's former Chief of Staff, told him that Valerie Plame
was a covert agent weeks before Libby had claimed to have been informed of Plame's status by a reporter.
On July 7, 2003, at The James S. Brady Briefing Room, Fleischer was asked about Joseph Wilson
, a former US ambassador who had recently written a New York Times editorial criticizing the intelligence
information the Bush administration
had relied upon to make its case for invading the nation of Iraq
. Specifically, Fleischer was asked to respond to Mr. Wilson's assertion that he had been sent to Niger
to investigate claims that Saddam Hussein
had sought yellowcake uranium and found no evidence that such events had ever occurred.
Fleischer testified in open court on January 29, 2007, that Libby told him on July 7, 2003, at lunch, about Ms. Plame, who is Mr. Wilson's wife. MSNBC
correspondent David Shuster
summarized Fleisher's testimony on Hardball
with Chris Matthews
:
Fleischer also testified to the fact that Dan Bartlett
, the president's communications adviser, told him the same thing on Air Force One
days later on the way to Niger with Pres. Bush. Fleischer had then relayed this information to Time correspondent John Dickerson and NBC
's David Gregory
in Uganda during the African trip.
Dickerson denied that such a conversation ever took place.
Ari Fleischer gave his final 'Press Briefing' on July 14, 2003.
On July 18, 2005, Bloomberg
reported that in his sworn testimony before the grand jury
investigating the leak, Fleischer denied having seen a memo circulating in Air Force One on July 7, 2003, which named Ms. Plame in connection to Mr. Wilson's mission and which identified her as a 'CIA' covert agent. However, a former Bush Administration official also on the plane testified to having seen Fleischer perusing the document
.
Columnist Robert Novak
, who published Ms. Plame's name on July 14, 2003, made a call to Fleischer on July 7, 2003, before Fleischer's trip to Africa with Pres. Bush. It is unclear whether Fleischer returned Novak's call. However, Fleischer is mentioned in Special Prosecutor
Patrick Fitzgerald
's indictment of Libby. The indictment states that Libby told Fleischer (referred to as the White House press secretary in the indictment) that Ms. Plame worked for the 'CIA' and that this fact was not well known.
After receiving an immunity agreement, Fleischer testified that he had revealed Ms. Plame's identity to reporters after learning it from Libby.
However, in the end it was discovered that Richard Armitage
first leaked Ms. Plame's identity, not Mr. Libby or Mr. Cheney.
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
. He was replaced by deputy press secretary Scott McClellan
Scott McClellan
Scott McClellan is a former White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush, and author of a controversial No. 1 New York Times bestseller about the Bush Administration titled What Happened. He replaced Ari Fleischer as press secretary in July 2003 and served until May 10, 2006...
on July 15, 2003.
Alleged role in Plame affair
Fleischer became an important figure in the CIA leakLeak
A leak is a hole or other opening, usually unintended and therefore undesired, in a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container...
case
Plame affair
The Plame Affair involved the identification of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert Central Intelligence Agency officer. Mrs. Wilson's relationship with the CIA was formerly classified information...
; he testified that Scooter Libby
Lewis Libby
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, later disbarred and convicted of a felony....
, Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
's former Chief of Staff, told him that Valerie Plame
Valerie Plame
Valerie Elise Plame Wilson , known as Valerie Plame, Valerie E. Wilson, and Valerie Plame Wilson, is a former United States CIA Operations Officer and the author of a memoir detailing her career and the events leading up to her resignation from the CIA.-Early life :Valerie Elise Plame was born on...
was a covert agent weeks before Libby had claimed to have been informed of Plame's status by a reporter.
On July 7, 2003, at The James S. Brady Briefing Room, Fleischer was asked about Joseph Wilson
Joseph C. Wilson
Joseph Charles Wilson IV is a former United States diplomat best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium; his New York Times op-ed piece, "What I Didn't Find in Africa"; and the subsequent "outing" of his wife...
, a former US ambassador who had recently written a New York Times editorial criticizing the intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
information the Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
had relied upon to make its case for invading the nation of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Specifically, Fleischer was asked to respond to Mr. Wilson's assertion that he had been sent to Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
to investigate claims that Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
had sought yellowcake uranium and found no evidence that such events had ever occurred.
Fleischer testified in open court on January 29, 2007, that Libby told him on July 7, 2003, at lunch, about Ms. Plame, who is Mr. Wilson's wife. MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
correspondent David Shuster
David Shuster
David Martin Shuster is an American television journalist who has been an anchor for MSNBC and who has also worked for Fox News and CNN. He anchored MSNBC Live weekdays from 10-11am and 3-4pm ET and filled in for Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Ed Schultz and Rachel Maddow on their respective shows...
summarized Fleisher's testimony on Hardball
Hardball with Chris Matthews
Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...
with Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews
Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...
:
Fleischer also testified to the fact that Dan Bartlett
Dan Bartlett
Daniel Joseph Bartlett was a Counselor to the President in the Bush administration. The position was previously held by Karen Hughes, who vacated the post in 2002. On June 1, 2007, he announced his resignation and that he would be leaving the White House on July 5, 2007...
, the president's communications adviser, told him the same thing on Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
days later on the way to Niger with Pres. Bush. Fleischer had then relayed this information to Time correspondent John Dickerson and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's David Gregory
David Gregory (journalist)
David Michael Gregory is an American television journalist, and moderator of NBC News' Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press.-Early life:...
in Uganda during the African trip.
Dickerson denied that such a conversation ever took place.
Ari Fleischer gave his final 'Press Briefing' on July 14, 2003.
On July 18, 2005, Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
reported that in his sworn testimony before the grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigating the leak, Fleischer denied having seen a memo circulating in Air Force One on July 7, 2003, which named Ms. Plame in connection to Mr. Wilson's mission and which identified her as a 'CIA' covert agent. However, a former Bush Administration official also on the plane testified to having seen Fleischer perusing the document
Document
The term document has multiple meanings in ordinary language and in scholarship. WordNet 3.1. lists four meanings :* document, written document, papers...
.
Columnist Robert Novak
Robert Novak
Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for...
, who published Ms. Plame's name on July 14, 2003, made a call to Fleischer on July 7, 2003, before Fleischer's trip to Africa with Pres. Bush. It is unclear whether Fleischer returned Novak's call. However, Fleischer is mentioned in Special Prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
Patrick Fitzgerald
Patrick Fitzgerald
Patrick J. Fitzgerald is the current United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and a member of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel...
's indictment of Libby. The indictment states that Libby told Fleischer (referred to as the White House press secretary in the indictment) that Ms. Plame worked for the 'CIA' and that this fact was not well known.
After receiving an immunity agreement, Fleischer testified that he had revealed Ms. Plame's identity to reporters after learning it from Libby.
However, in the end it was discovered that Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (politician)
Richard Lee Armitage, GCMG AC CNZM was the 13th United States Deputy Secretary of State, the second-in-command at the State Department, serving from 2001 to 2005.-Early life and military career:...
first leaked Ms. Plame's identity, not Mr. Libby or Mr. Cheney.
Personal life
- Fleischer married Rebecca Davis, an employee in the Office of Management and Budget, in November, 2002. They live in New York with their two children.
- Fleischer's brother, Michael, worked for the Coalition Provisional AuthorityCoalition Provisional AuthorityThe Coalition Provisional Authority was established as a transitional government following the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, members of the Multi-National Force – Iraq which was formed to oust the government of Saddam Hussein in 2003...
in Iraq. - After leaving the White House, he formed his own consulting firm, Ari Fleischer Sports Communications, offering Media and Crisis management
- He is on the board of the Republican Jewish CoalitionRepublican Jewish CoalitionThe Republican Jewish Coalition , founded in 1985, is a political lobbying group in the United States that promotes Jewish Republicans. The RJC claims that it is the most important voice on conservative political issues for the Jewish-American community...
. - He was portrayed by Rob CorddryRob CorddryRobert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
in Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's W.W. (film)W. is a 2008 American film based on the life and presidency of George W. Bush. It was produced and directed by Oliver Stone, written by Stanley Weiser, and stars Josh Brolin as Bush, with a cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott...
, a biographical movie about George W. Bush. - He was hired by the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
as a consultant in August 2008. - Hired by Tiger WoodsTiger WoodsEldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
to facilitate Woods' reentry to the PGA Tour, but abruptly dropped by Woods following public revelation of Fleischer's role.