White House Gaggle

By Gregory Gorman
August 1, 2005

President’s Schedule

This morning at 10:00, the President will announce his appointment of John Bolton to be Ambassador to the United Nations. Earlier this morning, the President had his usual briefings and received calls from President Maduro of Honduras and President Fernandez of the Dominican Republic to congratulate him on the passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Press Secretary Scott McClellan said that both Latin American leaders praised CAFTA as a vital economic development for the region and as a consolidation of democracy in the participating countries. They also highlighted the positive signal that the passage of CAFTA sends to the region both in terms of committed, sustained engagement by the United States as well as for our free trade agenda in the hemisphere. McClellan said that President Bush thanked both Presidents Maduro and Fernandez for their efforts on behalf of the agreement. This afternoon, the President will have a round-table interview with major papers from the Texas media. This interview had been previously cancelled but the President wanted to reschedule in advance of his trip to Crawford on Tuesday.

John Bolton Recess Appointment

In response to questions regarding the recess appointment of John Bolton as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, McClellan said that Bolton has the "complete confidence of the President. He is clearly someone who enjoyed majority support from the United States Senate but because of partisan delaying tactics, he was not given a fair up or down vote on the floor of the Senate". McClellan said that the President will make remarks about how this is a critical time at the United Nations. "We are a nation that is at war and we are also working to push through comprehensive reforms at the United Nations. It is vital that we have our ambassador in place". When asked if a recess appointment will undermine or weaken Bolton, McClellan said that he would have more to say about it following the President’s statement. McClellan did say that Bolton "is someone that gets things done and he has worked to get things done at the United Nations in the past. He is a results-oriented person."

Death of King Fahd

The President spoke to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia this morning to extend the condolences of the United States on the death of King Fahd. The President also offered his congratulations to King Abdullah on assuming the throne of Saudi Arabia. McClellan announced that the President would most likely release a statement later in the morning regarding the death of King Fahd. McClellan announced that there will be a U.S. delegation going to Saudi Arabia for the funeral of King Fahd. President Bush will not be part of the delegation.

Saddam Hussein Trial Judge

McClellan was asked to comment about a statement made by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Chalabi in which he calls for the recusal of the judge presiding over Saddam Hussein’s trail because of his long history with the Ba’ath party. McClellan reiterated the United States’ opinion that Saddam Hussein will face justice by the Iraqi people. "They will try him for the atrocities that his regime committed against the people of Iraq and it is a matter for the people of Iraq."