POTUS Raises The Bar?

In his remarks today with the Prime Minister of India, President Bush faced a question on the Karl Rove leak investigation, and in his response seems to have raised the bar as to whether anyone involved would be dismissed from the White House:

Q: Mr. President, you said you don’t want to talk about an ongoing investigation, so I’d like to ask you, regardless of whether a crime was committed, do you still intend to fire anyone found to be involved in the CIA leak case? And are you displeased that Karl Rove told a reporter that Ambassador Joe Wilson’s wife worked for the Agency on WMD issues?

PRESIDENT BUSH: We have a serious ongoing investigation here. (Laughter.) And it’s being played out in the press. And I think it’s best that people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions. And I will do so, as well. I don’t know all the facts. I want to know all the facts. The best place for the facts to be done is by somebody who’s spending time investigating it. 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.

Previously, you’ll remember, he’d said that anyone “involved” would no longer work in the White House, but now it appears a criminal conviction will be the standard.

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