Ari Fleischer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lawrence Ari Fleischer (born October 13, 1960) was the press secretary for U.S. President George W. Bush from January, 2001 to July, 2003. Mr. Fleischer was born in Pound Ridge, New York.
Contents |
[edit] Congressional Staffer
Upon his 1982 graduation from Middlebury College in Vermont, Mr. Fleischer worked as press secretary for Jon Fossil, a Republican candidate for a New York congressional seat. Later Mr. Fleischer worked as press secretary for Congressmen Norman Lent. From 1985 to 1988 he was the field-director for the National Republican Congressional Committee. He went back to being a press secretary in 1988, working for Congressman Joseph DioGuardi for a short time.
Mr. Fleischer served as Senator Pete Domenici's press secretary from 1989 to 1994. He then served as spokesman for the House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee for five years. He worked as deputy communications director for George H. W. Bush's 1992 reelection campaign.
[edit] White House Press Secretary
Although Mr. Fleischer served as communications director for Elizabeth Dole during her presidential run in the 2000 election campaign, he joined George W. Bush's presidential campaign after Mrs. Dole dropped out of the race. When Mr. Bush became the President in 2001, he tapped Mr. Fleischer to become his press secretary.
Mr. Fleischer first introduced a new phrase, "homicide bombing", to describe what has also been called suicide bombing, on April 12, 2002, to emphasize the terrorist connotations of the tactic.
| “ | :"The president…convened a meeting of the National Security Council, at which point, in the middle of the meeting, the president was informed about this morning's homicide bombing in Jerusalem.…The Saudi telethon, as they have told it to us, is to provide assistance to the Palestinian people, and that isn't — no money is going to go to provide the homicide bombers with any assistance from the Saudi government." | ” |
-
- — Ari Fleischer, "White House Regular Briefing," Federal News Service, April 12, 2002
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.
[edit] Alleged Role in Plame Affair
- Further information: Plame affair
Mr. Fleischer has recently become an important figure in the CIA leak case; he has testified that I. Lewis Libby, Vice President "Dick" Cheney's former Chief of Staff, told him that Valerie Plame was a covert agent weeks before Mr. Libby had claimed to have informed of Plame's status by a reporter.
On July 7, 2003, at The James S. Brady Briefing Room, Mr. 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, Mr. Fleischer was asked to respond to Mr. Wilson's assertion that he had been sent to Niger to investigate Pres. Bush's claim that Saddam Hussein had sought yellowcake uranium and found no evidence that such events had ever occurred.
| “ | Q: Can you give us the White House account of Ambassador Wilson's account of what happened when he went to Niger and investigated the suggestions that Niger was passing yellow cake to Iraq? I'm sure you saw the piece yesterday in The New York Times.
FLEISCHER: Well, there is zero, nada, nothing new here. Ambassador Wilson, other than the fact that now people know his name, has said all this before. But the fact of the matter is in his statements about the Vice President -- the Vice President's office did not request the mission to Niger. The Vice President's office was not informed of his mission and he was not aware of Mr. Wilson's mission until recent press accounts -- press reports accounted for it.[1] |
” |
Mr. Fleischer testified in open court on January 29, 2007, that Mr. Libby told him on July 7, 2003, at lunch, about Ms. Plame, who is Mr. Wilson's wife. MSNBC correspondent David Shuster summarized Mr. Fleisher's testimony on Hardball with Chris Matthews:
| “ | "Ambassador Wilson was sent to Niger by his wife. His wife works at the CIA," Fleischer recalled Libby saying. Libby said the information was "hush-hush, on the Q-T."
He testified that “The information about Wilson’s wife was news to me. It was the first time I had ever heard it.”[2] |
” |
Mr. 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. Mr. Fleischer had then relayed this information to Time correspondent John Dickerson and NBC's David Gregory in Uganda during the African trip.[3][4]
Mr. Dickerson has denied that such a conversation ever took place.[5] 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, Mr. 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 Mr. Fleischer perusing the document (see[1], [2]).
Columnist Robert Novak, who published Mr. Plame's name on July 14, 2003, made a call to Mr. Fleischer on July 7, 2003, before Mr. Fleischer's trip to Africa with Pres. Bush. It is unclear whether Mr. Fleischer returned Mr. Novak's call ([3]). However, Mr. Fleischer is mentioned in Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's indictment of Mr. Libby: the indictment states that Mr. Libby told Mr. 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, Mr. Fleischer testified that he had revealed Ms. Plame's identity to reporters after learning it from Mr. Libby.[6]
[edit] Personal life
- Mr. Fleischer married Rebecca Davis, an employee in the Office of Management and Budget, in November, 2002. They live in Washington, D.C. with their two children.
- Mr. Fleischer's brother, Michael, worked for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
- Mr. Fleischer is an avid fan of baseball and the New York Yankees, and could be seen from time to time playing catch with President Bush on the White House lawn.
- After leaving the White House, he formed his own consulting firm, Ari Fleischer Communications.
- He is a member of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity.
- He is on the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
[edit] Quotes
- "Freedom's taste is unquenchable" after he was asked about the President's reaction to TV coverage of Iraqis celebrating during the 2003 invasion of Baghdad ([4]).
- "New information has come to our attention that puts in perspective the results of the vote in Palm Beach County... Palm Beach County is a Pat Buchanan stronghold and that's why Pat Buchanan received 3,407 votes there." Proposing an alternative to the idea that Florida voters were misled by the butterfly ballot in the 2000 Presidential election ([5]).
- "They're reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do." Comment on controversial remarks by Representative John Cooksey (R-LA) and comedian Bill Maher subsequent to September 11, 2001([6]).
- "If Saddam Hussein indicates that he has weapons of mass destruction and that he is violating United Nations resolutions, then we will know that Saddam Hussein again deceived the world. If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world" ([7]).
- "I can only say the cost of a one-way ticket is substantially less than that. The cost of one bullet, the Iraqi people taking it (on) themselves, is substantially less than that." Mentioning the assassination of Saddam Hussein as a less costly alternative to an American invasion of Iraq ([8]).
[edit] References
- ^ Office of the Press Secretary The White House (July 7, 2003). Press Secretary Briefings. Press release.
- ^ David Shuster. "Libby trial: Jurors taking note of Fleischer testimony", Hardball with Chris Matthews, Monday, January 29, 2007 12:42 PM. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
- ^ James Gordon Meek. "Fleischer says he leaked Plame's CIA employment", New York Daily News, January 30, 2007.
- ^ Carol D. Leonnig and Amy Goldstein (2007-01-25). Ex-CIA Official Testifies About Libby's Calls. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
- ^ John Dickerson. "My Surreal Day at the Libby Trial", Dispatches From the Scooter Libby Trial, slate.com, January 29, 2007.
- ^ Carol D. Leonnig and Amy Goldstein (2007-01-25). Ex-CIA Official Testifies About Libby's Calls. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
[edit] External links
- NewsHour interview from PBS
- CNN article on Fleischer's resignation
- Transcripts of all White House press briefings since 2001
- A sourced biography from a University of Florida student
| Preceded by Jake Siewert |
White House Press Secretary 2001 – 2003 |
Succeeded by Scott McClellan |
| White House Press Secretaries |  |
|---|---|
| Early • Reinsch • Daniels • Ross • Early • Short • Tubby • Hagerty • Salinger • Reedy • Moyers • Christian • Ziegler • terHorst • Nessen • Powell • Brady • Speakes • Fitzwater • Myers • McCurry • Lockhart • Siewert • Fleischer • McClellan • Snow |
