The House Sergeant at Arms, appointed by Republicans, has made this statement about the Pelosi jet flap:

As the Sergeant at Arms, I have the responsibility to ensure the security of the members of the House of Representatives, to include the Speaker of the House.  The Speaker requires additional precautions due to her responsibilities as the leader of the House and her Constitutional position as second in the line of succession to the presidency.

In a post 9/11 threat environment, it is reasonable and prudent to provide military aircraft to the Speaker for official travel between Washington and her district.  The practice began with Speaker Hastert and I have recommended that it continue with Speaker Pelosi.  The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable.  This will ensure communications capabilities and also enhance security.  I made the recommendation to use military aircraft based upon the need to provide necessary levels of security for ranking national leaders, such as the Speaker.  I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue.

How much more conclusive can you get? Bill Livingood, a thirty-one year veteran of the Secret Service, was appointed by the Republican House after they took over in 1994. He comes out and states flatly that it was his idea, he made the request, and it was based upon security and nothing else.

Pelosi then appeared on Fox News (which has been milking this story itself) and made clear that she had not made any such request, and had even stated a preference for flying commercial. Livingood had told her that a plane was necessary for national security. The only insistence Pelosi made was that the plane could go the distance: “I have never asked for any larger plane. I have said that I am happy to ride commercial if the plane they have doesn’t go coast to coast.” This is completely understandable: if faced with the probability, twice a week, of having your flight grounded and being stuck on the ground somewhere for hours, would you not rather just take a commercial non-stop flight in Business class?

The final nail in the coffin came when even the White House, apparently sensing how stupid and futile the whole smear campaign was, took Pelosi’s side: “This is a silly story and I think it’s been unfair to the speaker,” Tony Snow said.

Or at least you would think it was the final nail in the coffin. Even after the story was clarified beyond all doubt, even after the unimpeachable House Sergeant at Arms made his statement, even after the White House said it was “silly,” the RNC persisted in trying to make a scandal of it. After all the aforementioned, the RNC released a statement titled “Pelosi’s power trip: Non-stop Nancy seeks flight of fancy.” [The release was apparently yanked from the GOP servers, but it is reproduced in this GOP blog.] The press release repeats just about every since-debunked lie and then some.

Tony Snow responded by making the following comment:

… as Speaker of the House, she is entitled to military transport, and that the arrangements, the proper arrangements are being made between the Sergeant of Arms office in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Department of Defense. We think it’s appropriate, and so, again, I think this is much ado about not a whole lot. It is important for the Speaker to have this kind of protection and travel. It was certainly appropriate for Speaker Hastert.

The members of the press tried to get Snow to comment further on the RNC press release, but he declined–obviously, any statement made would have to point out what idiots they are.

So, how much longer will the GOP try to egg this smear campaign on? Stay Tuned.