[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 40 (Monday, October 6, 2003)]
[Pages 1286-1287]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 Reichmann, 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

[[Page 1287]]

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----
    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 and 
Chicago Cubs baseball player Sammy Sosa. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.