There is not much I can say about this except that I, too, regret this resignation. As readers here know, P.J. has supplied important background information via Twitter since the Arab Spring began. I will miss his tweets. Godspeed, P.J. and thank you for your service.
Resignation of Philip J. Crowley as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateWashington, DCMarch 13, 2011
It is with regret that I have accepted the resignation of Philip J. Crowley as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. PJ has served our nation with distinction for more than three decades, in uniform and as a civilian. His service to country is motivated by a deep devotion to public policy and public diplomacy, and I wish him the very best. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) Michael Hammer will serve as Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
STATEMENT BY PHILIP J. CROWLEY
The unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious crime under U.S. law. My recent comments regarding the conditions of the pre-trial detention of Private First Class Bradley Manning were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership. The exercise of power in today’s challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values.
Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesman for the Department of State.
I am enormously grateful to President Obama and Secretary Clinton for the high honor of once again serving the American people. I leave with great admiration and affection for my State colleagues, who promote our national interest both on the front lines and in the quiet corners of the world. It was a privilege to help communicate their many and vital contributions to our national security. And I leave with deep respect for the journalists who report on foreign policy and global developments every day, in many cases under dangerous conditions and subject to serious threats. Their efforts help make governments more responsible, accountable and transparent.
This is too bad.
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Yes. More mysterious: Why Hammer and not Mark Toner?
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One of “her people”. Sounds like she wants to reign in the press room. That or they’re going to need a more policy oriented person in there in the next couple weeks, but that’s just my wild speculation.
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Not so sure he’s hers. One report has him coming from the White House.
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It still means that they want things a little less comfortable for the press.
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Yes, probably. PJ was somewhat informal. Well, I guess we shal see.
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Another thought. The White House might be starting to ease their people in there to get ready for her retirement announcement. Even if he’s re-elected, she’s made it veryclear that she’s not staying.
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Could be.
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We’ve been hearing from Sen. Kerry more often these days. Maybe there’s a transition in the works?
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Lesson learned from this administration: Nobody who expects to get a post in this administration gets it. John Kerry will have a long career on the FR committee and when she resigns he will be hearing confirmation testimony from someone else who will not be Bill Richardson, either.
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Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing regarding Kerry. Richardson, on the other hand, deserves to be passed over for the position and no time with Madame Secretary while she’s in control of the State Dept.
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My $$$ is on Susan Rice or Samantha Power (who was in Geneva with HRC last week). It won’t be Kerry. Obama does not appoint those who “apply” as it were.
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Susan rice can even handle the un position she has.
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True. I would hate to be the one to follow HRC!
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Still,
Did PJ travel with Hillary?
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Yes, he did sometimes. Especially to conferences.
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Thanks, I knew Poltico was lying.
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They said he didn’t? I have pictures of him on trips with her. They also said the HRC/PJ relationship was sour. I don’t think so.
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Politico and Huffington Post are trying to blame Hillary for Crowley being fired. Saying they basically hated each other and Hillary wanted him gone. The normal BS they always report
But ABC is reporting this:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/03/state-d…
While some White House officials knew of Crowley’s comments, White House chief of staff Bill Daley learned of them when ABC News asked that question of the president. Daley told White House officials of Crowley, “he’s done.” Manning was arrested in May 2010 after telling a former hacker that he had given documents to WikiLeaks. Earlier this month the Army filed 22 new counts against him including aiding the enemy, theft of public property or records, computer fraud, transmitting information in violation of the Espionage Act.
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National Review is also buying the Politico spin. I don’t believe it. Your link wouldn’t open, so I am re-posting it. This does sound more like it. I follow both Jake Tapper and Kirit Radia who has been part of HRC’s traveling press.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/03/state-department-spokesman-pj-crowley-resigned-bradley-manning.html
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Thanks.
I knew something was wrong when this first came into the news the media was tying this to Hillary saying he is Hillary’s guy over and over and that Obama disagreed and was separate from what Crowley said. Then when the media realized more people agreed with Crowley the talking point of him and Hillary fighting came out and how Obama was really not that mad.
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I don’t believe Hillary disagreed with him. It implies disagreement between HRC and the WH. We’ll see how this rolls out. I don’t like it.
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Between this and Bill’s comments about Libya and domestic oil production, something’s up.
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Hmmmmm….
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Agreed. If the world didn’t have bigger things to deal with (Libya and Japan – both heartrending) I think we’d be hearing a different tune from them. The White House would obviously like this to move quietly (a resignation on a Sunday?!) and the media wants this to go away so they can focus on the bigger stories so glossing it over works for everyone.
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Oh God! There was just a hydrogen explosion at one of those plants.
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WaPo says there was no damage to the containment vessel.
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Hillary has a big day tomorrow and she is I am sure focused on her trip. When some of the top news people from CNN and MSNBC will be with her this week. Wolf Blitzer and Andrea Mitchell for starters so maybe big news coming about this week on Libya.
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Yes, she will be meeting with Libyan opposition reps. I can watch Wolf, but you will have to keep me posted on Andrea since I am at work when she is on.
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I will rest a lot easier when Hillary is back home safe and sound. You know how I worry when she travels to the Middle East.
BTW, did you hear about the Al Jazeera tweet about the rebels’ children in Libya holding up signs begging “Mama Clinton” to help them?
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I didn’t hear about that. Aw.
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I retweeted that Al Jazeera tweet and I looked for pictures, but didn’t find any (unsurprisingly).
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I discovered (to my shock) that I wasn’t following Al Jazeera. Now I am. I put the candles up at the bottom of the schedule today. Many things to pray for.
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It looks that way. Our naval presence in the Mediterranean has been quietly growing (according to various reports on Twitter).
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Well, we are trying to help evacuate those poor trapped foreign workers.
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Thank you..really informative!!
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[…] is at this post). You may remember that Mike appeared at the State Department not long after the resignation of P.J. Crowley as State Spokesperson and was expected to replace P.J. Ultimately, Victoria Nuland, who had acted […]
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