MR. RUSSERT: And then your top deputy, Stephen Hadley, on July 23,
said this. "Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters
that he received two memos from the CIA in October that cast doubt on
intelligence reports that Iraq had sough to buy uranium from Niger to
use in developing nuclear weapons. Both memos were also sent to chief
speechwriter Michael Gerson and one was sent to national security
adviser, Dr. Condoleezza Rice."

DR. RICE: First of all, the CIA did clear the speech in its entirety
and George Tenet has said that. He'd also said that he believes that
it should not have been cleared. And we apparently, with the--in
October for the Cincinnati speech, not for the State of the Union, but
the Cincinnati speech, George Tenet asked that this be taken out of
the Cincinnati speech, the reference to yellow cake. It was taken out
of the Cincinnati speech because whenever the director of Central
Intelligence wants something out, it's gone.

MR. RUSSERT: How'd it get back in?

DR. RICE: It's s not a matter of getting back in. It's a matter, Tim,that
three-plus months later, people didn't remember that George Tenet
had asked that it be taken out of the Cincinnati speech and then it
was cleared by the agency. I didn't remember.

They forgot? Mr. Russert, of course, gave Ms. Rice a pass on this amazing statement.