Does anything about this arrangement strike you as unusual or suspicious? And given that there have been public suggestions this money was offered to encourage his silence before the Whitewater investigator, have you taken any steps yourself to ensure yourself that this is not the case?
A: Well, first of all, I didn't know about it. To the best of my recollection, I didn't know anything about his having that job until I read about it in the press. And I can't imagine who could have ever arranged to do something improper like that and no one around here know about it. It's just not -- we -- we did not know anything about it. And I can tell you categorically that that did not happen. I knew nothing about it -- no -- none of us did -- before it happened. And I didn't personally know anything about it till I read about it in the press.
So I don't think -- I think when somebody makes a charge like that there ought to be some burden on them to come forward with some evidence to substantiate their charge instead of saying, "We'll make a charge. See if you can disprove it." That's not the way things work. And that's a pretty irresponsible charge to make without knowing -- having some evidence of it. And I am just telling you it's not so.
MR. MCCURRY: Say again?
Q Does the White House consider this whole Webb Hubbell relationship with Lippo suspicious?
MR. MCCURRY: The President addressed that at length yesterday. I don't have anything to add to it. As to the sequence of who became aware of his retention, Mr. Davis has dealt with that and I believe dealt with it in a written question.
Q But, Mike, then the President's answer was not correct yesterday?
MR. MCCURRY: That's not at all what I said. I said that he addressed it in very --
Q Well, Mr. Davis' answer and the President's and yours don't --
MR. MCCURRY: That's not true at all.
Q The President yesterday said nobody knew until they read it in the papers. But we've been told previously --
MR. MCCURRY: He did not. He said that he was not aware of it. Go back and look at the transcript, you're misreading it.
Q He also said nobody knew, nobody around here knew about it.
MR. MCCURRY: He said no one knew of the retention of Mr. Hubbell by Lippo prior to it occurring, and that is a fact.
Q Prior to reading about it, Mike.
Q So that's what he said.
MR. MCCURRY: No, you're misreading the transcript. Go back and look at it and you'll get it right.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, before it happened, would be when he was hired. Okay? What the President indicated was that, to the best of his recollection, people were not aware of his hiring prior to --people were not aware prior to his hiring of his retention by Lippo Group.
Q But they were -- but Lindsey was aware, but at least after the fact, while it was ongoing.
MR. MCCURRY: He was aware -- correct, after the fact, which I think is fully consistent with what the President said yesterday.
Q Barely.
Q Another part of the question, though, that the President really did not address was whether he found the whole thing smelly and whether he had done anything to assure himself that it wasn't --
MR. MCCURRY: I don't have anything to add to the President's answer.