Despite denials, Bush Administration Pushed For Private Briefings For Petraeus, Dems Confirm

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Bush Administration Pushed For Private Briefings For Petraeus, Dems Confirm
By Greg Sargent | bio

Amid a bitter skirmish between the White House and Dems yesterday over whether General Petraeus will testify publicly to Congress about Iraq, the Bush administration repeatedly claimed yesterday that the administration had never pushed for closed-door-only briefings for Petraeus.

But that claim is false, according to an on-the-record statement we've obtained from the office of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Rather, the Bush administration did in fact push for limited private briefings for Petraus and U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker, according to the statement, which was provided to Election Central by Lynne Weille, the communications director for Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Lantos.

"Administration officials told senior Congressional staff in early July that they preferred to have Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus testify in closed session before the entire House of Representatives, rather than in open hearings," Weille said in the statement, which constitutes the first on-the-record assertion by Dems that this happened.

The statement is striking, because any White House bid to limit the briefing suggests that the administration may have wanted to prevent the public from hearing Petraeus' views of Iraq straight from him directly. Petraeus will also share his views via input he'll give on a written report, but that will be written by the White House.

What's more, the statement appears to directly contradict assertions made yesterday by administration spokesperson Gordon Johndroe. Asked yesterday if the White House had pushed for closed-door-only briefings, Johndroe said, "No, no."

The statement also suggests that the White House may have been trying to circumvent a key legal requirement that was written into the Iraq supplemental bill passed this spring with White House support -- i.e., that Petraeus and Crocker testify publicly.

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