    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [September 30, 2003]
    [Pages 1215-1216]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1215]]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Business Leaders and an Exchange With
    Reporters in Chicago
    September 30, 2003

        The President. Mr. Mayor, thank you. I
    want to thank the business leaders here from the Chicago area for
    sharing with me their concerns about our economy. I think it's safe to
    say most people share the sense of optimism I do but recognize there's
    still work to be done, particularly when it comes to job creation.

        We talked about good legal policy. We talked about the need for an
    energy plan. We talked about fair trade for American manufacturers. We
    talked about the need for China to make sure that China's got a monetary
    policy which is fair. And I assured the leaders here that I would work
    to--I'd represent the manufacturing sector and the--all sectors of our
    economy when it comes to world trade.

        The thing I'm concerned about is people being able to find a job. We
    put the conditions in place for good job creation, but I recognize
    there's still people who want to work that can't find a job. And we're
    dedicated to hearing the voices of those folks and working hard to
    expand our economy.

        And so I want to thank you all for taking time. Mr. Mayor, I wish the Cubs all the best. [Laughter] I made a
    significant contribution to the Cubs, as you might recall----

        Participant. Sammy.

        The President. ----when I was a--yes, Sammy Sosa. I'll take great delight when they win.

        Participant. Thank you for Sammy.

        The President. Thanks for coming.

        Let me answer a couple of questions. Then we've got to go to
    Cincinnati. Deb [Deb Riechmann, Associated Press].

    Justice Department Investigation of Classified Information Leak

        Q. Do you think that the Justice Department can conduct an impartial
    investigation, considering the political ramifications of the CIA leak,
    and why wouldn't a special counsel be better?
        The President. Yes. Let me just say something about leaks in
    Washington. There are too many leaks of classified information in
    Washington. There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the
    legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak
    out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person
    has violated law, the person will be taken care of.
        And so I welcome the investigation. I'm absolutely confident that
    the Justice Department will do a very good job. There's a special
    division of career Justice Department officials who are tasked with
    doing this kind of work. They have done this kind of work before in
    Washington this year. I have told our administration--people in my
    administration to be fully cooperative.
        I want to know the truth. If anybody has got any information, inside
    our administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if
    they came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not
    these allegations are true and get on about the business.
        Yes, let's see, Kemper [Bob Kemper, Chicago Tribune]. He's from
    Chicago. Where are you? Are you a Cubs or White Sox fan? [Laughter] Wait
    a minute. That doesn't seem fair, does it? [Laughter]
        Q. Yesterday we were told that Karl Rove had no role in it.
        The President. Yes.
        Q. Have you talked to Karl, and do you have confidence in him----

    [[Page 1216]]

        The President. Listen, I know of nobody--I don't know of anybody in
    my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did
    leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the
    appropriate action. And this investigation is a good thing.
        And again I repeat, you know, Washington is a town where there's all
    kinds of allegations. You've heard much of the allegations. And if
    people have got solid information, please come forward with it. And that
    would be people inside the information who are the so-called anonymous
    sources, or people outside the information--outside the administration.
    And we can clarify this thing very quickly if people who have got solid
    evidence would come forward and speak out. And I would hope they would.
    And then we'll get to the bottom of this and move on.
        But I want to tell you something, leaks of classified information
    are a bad thing. And we've had them--there's too much leaking in
    Washington. That's just the way it is. And we've had leaks out of the
    administrative branch, had leaks out of the legislative branch, and out
    of the executive branch and the legislative branch, and I've spoken out
    consistently against them, and I want to know who the leakers are.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:10 p.m. at the University of Chicago. In
    his remarks, he referred to Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago, IL; and
    Chicago Cubs baseball player Sammy Sosa. The Office of the Press
    Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.
    A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.