When will the White House Answer When Bush Knew of the NIE Report?

At think progress there is a piece that Bush will still not answer when he learned of the new NIE report.

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Bush was briefed last Wednesday on the NIE report, but had learned there was new information on Iran’s program sometime “in the last few months.” Bush claimed yesterday that he was told “in August” by DNI Mike McConnell that “we have some new information.” But Bush claimed McConnell didn’t tell him what the information was.


Here is also a question and answer from this morning:

QUESTION: Just to clarify one point from the press conference yesterday, the President was — said that he was told by Mr. McConnell, just generally, that there had been some new intelligence and that people were taking another look at it. Did the President at that point ask any follow-up? Did Mr. McConnell offer any comments that, in fact, there might have to be a serious reevaluation of the whole intelligence?

FRATTO: What Director McConnell said is that we’re going to go back and do rigorous analysis of this intelligence, and when we can be certain of it, we’re going to come back and talk to you — and that’s what they did. […]

QUESTION: In that conversation did McConnell tell him that our previous intelligence could be all wrong? How — (inaudible) — was he about that?

FRATTO: I don’t have anything on that. […]

QUESTION: I just want to follow up on Mike’s question. Was there any indication from McConnell of the nature of the intelligence in the meeting in August?

FRATTO: I can’t give you more detail on what Director McConnell said to the President.

We are supposed to believe that McConnell did not tell the President that he had no idea that Iran stopped its nuclear weapon program? Either the President is an idiot, McConnell is a maverick who should be fired or both.