White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan appeared uneasy last week when Human Events Political Editor John Gizzi asked whether there was any truth to reports that the administration dispatched former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie to Texas to urge Rep. Tom DeLay (R.-Tex.) to step down as House majority leader, but that DeLay had refused to see him. Flustered, McClellan gave no answer. "What reports?" he said. "Where did you read that?"
After Gizzi gave several sources for his question, McClellan deputy Trent Duffy told him: "It's our understanding that no one from the administration was sent to see Mr. DeLay." Gillespie is not an administration official.
