Ari Fleischer September 26, 2001

I'm sure that this has been blogged about extensively, and some reports say that the statement below was stricken from the original transcript, but I just found out about it. And, I found it on the White House's website. My fellow Americans, be careful.

Excerpt from the WH Press Briefing from 9/26/2001:

Q As Commander-In-Chief, what was the President's reaction to television's Bill Maher, in his announcement that members of our Armed Forces who deal with missiles are cowards, while the armed terrorists who killed 6,000 unarmed are not cowards, for which Maher was briefly moved off a Washington television station?

MR. FLEISCHER: I have not discussed it with the President, one. I have --

Q Surely, as a --

MR. FLEISCHER: I'm getting there.

Q Surely as Commander, he was enraged at that, wasn't he?

MR. FLEISCHER: I'm getting there, Les.

Q Okay.

MR. FLEISCHER: I'm aware of the press reports about what he said. I have not seen the actual transcript of the show itself. But assuming the press reports are right, it's a terrible thing to say, and it unfortunate. And that's why -- there was an earlier question about has the President said anything to people in his own party -- they're reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do. This is not a time for remarks like that; there never is. [emphasis added]
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Granted, Maher's comments may seem insensitive, but to be told by a member of the White House staff that Americans "need to watch what they say, watch what they do" sounds like there were programs in place from the start of the Bush II presidency in 2001, that were designed to surveil "domestic terrorists". Evidence of that may be found in a previous post about the NSA's Transition 2001.