United States:Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan says in an upcoming book that he was misled by President George Bush and other senior officials into misinforming the press about a CIA leak case that fuelled debate about the Iraq war.
Mr McClellan says he exonerated former top White House aides Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby because Mr Bush had called on him to help restore his credibility after the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
"There was one problem, it was not true," Mr McClellan said in an excerpt released by the publisher. "I had unknowingly passed along false information and five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice-president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself."
Mr McClellan, who as White House press secretary from 2003- 2006 dealt with the press, was not available for comment. His book, Inside the Bush White House and What's Wrong with Washington, is due out in April.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said: "The president has not and would not ask anyone to pass on false information."
An investigation into who leaked the identity of former CIA analyst Valerie Plame reached into the ranks of top White House aides and resulted in the conviction of Libby on perjury and obstruction of justice charges in March. Libby, vice-president Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison. Mr Bush commuted the sentence in July. - (Reuters)