Resignation report is ‘nonsense’: Powell

‘‘I serve at the pleasure of the President. The President and I have not discussed anything other than my continuing to do my job for him. This is just one of those stories that emerge in Washington that reflects nothing more than gossip, and the gossip leads to a rash of speculation about who might fill a vacancy that does not exist,’’ he said.

Earlier in the day, White House officials also denied the report. White House spokesman Scott McClellan praised Powell and Armitage and dismissed the Post article, which had the two resigning on January 21, 2005, the day after Inauguration Day, as nothing more than ‘‘speculation and gossip.’’ ‘‘I think you have to love August, when there’s a news void to fill and there’s a lot of the rumour mill going around Washington, DC,’’ McClellan said.

State Department officials also dismissed the report as ‘‘baseless speculation, gossip and rumour.’’ But when Powell was asked to respond to the Post article, he said: ‘‘The story has no substance…The so-called conversation…did not take place.’’

Speculation about the plans of Bush administration officials is ripe in Washington, and not only because Congressional and presidential vacation schedules have left the media with little news. It is common for administration officials either to resign or to state their intentions to do so shortly before a first-term president officially begins his campaign for re-election. (LAT-WP)