Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary, had a difficult start to Monday. She answered questions about the ongoing scandal with classified documents but stuck largely to the scripted responses by the White House public relations department.
The most striking moment in the briefing was however her refusal to admit that Joe Biden is part of a coverup.
Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy started by saying that the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee said this document situation had all the makings for a possible coverup. “Is President Biden in a coverup?”
Jean-Pierre might be expected to clearly and emphatically reject the claim that Biden was involved in a coverup. She did not do that.
DOOCY: “Is President Biden involved in a cover-up?”
KJP: “He takes this very seriously…You asked me kind of a question that everybody laughed at, which was an interesting question to ask…” pic.twitter.com/lbCB4xBzT1
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 23, 2023
She began, “We have been very transparent here, from the administration.” “The president has made it clear that he takes classified information very seriously, and that it is important that this be done quickly,” she said. “His team has been — completely cooperative with this legal matter.”
She then filibustered more, before telling Doocy that she would refer such questions to White House Counsel.
“Anything else, Peter — and this is — I’m going to be very serious. You asked me, kind of, a question that everybody laughed at, which was an interesting question to ask,” she continued. “But any other — any other underlying questions that you may have, I would refer you to my colleagues, the White House Counsel. I’m going to continue to be prudent. I’m going to be — continue to be consistent, and refer you to — any questions you have there.”
All she had to say was, “no, he’s not involved in a coverup,” and she couldn’t even do that.
