WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Monday that he would fire any member of his administration who was found to have broken the law in revealing information about a covert CIA operative.
"I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts, and if someone committed a crime they will no longer work in my administration," Bush said at a news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Bush's statement was the latest iteration of his stance on the conditions under which he would dismiss a member of his staff for any role in leaking the CIA operative's identity.
Federal prosecutors are investigating how the identity of the undercover operative, Valerie Plame, made its way into the news media in July 2003, and whether anyone in the Bush administration leaked information about her in violation of a federal law that protects covert agents' identities.
Prosecutors have obtained testimony from Bush's senior political advisor, Karl Rove, and other administration officials.
By saying Monday that committing a crime would trigger dismissal, Bush appeared to be setting a narrower standard than he did in a statement made on June 10, 2004. On that day, Bush answered "yes" when he was asked: "Do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found" to have leaked the CIA operative's name?
Bush's spokesman, Scott McClellan, said Sept. 29, 2003: "The president...has made it very clear to people in his administration that he expects them to adhere to the highest standards of conduct. If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration."
Democrats said Bush, with his statement Monday, had lowered the ethical standards for working at the White House.
"The standard for holding a high position in the White House should not simply be that you didn't break the law," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, in a written statement, accused Bush of having "lowered the ethics bar."
But Bush has said in the past that an aide would be fired if found to have broken a law, language similar to his statement Monday.
"There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington," Bush said on Sept. 30, 2003. "There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there's a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of."
