White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly deflected questions this week about the growing controversy surrounding classified documents that were found at the home and private office of President Joe Biden.
The document scandal was first revealed earlier this week when CBS News reported that personal lawyers for Biden were clearing out a private office that he used after his time as vice president in the Obama administration.
The scandal grew after lawyers found documents in the garage of his home in Delaware and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he had appointed a special counsel to oversee the investigation.
“Is the president willing to be interviewed by federal investigators about his handling of classified documents?” a reporter asked Jean-Pierre on Thursday.
“So, first, let me just say: I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals,” she responded. “This is something for the Department of —”
“It’s not a hypothetical question. There’s an investigation ongoing,” the reporter responded. “Will the president speak to investigators?”
“You’re asking me about something in the future, and I am telling you that I’m not going to get ahead of what the Department of Justice is going to decide,” Jean-Pierre claimed.
"Is the president willing to be interviewed by federal investigators about his handling of classified documents?"
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: "I'm not going to get into hypotheticals." pic.twitter.com/3r8xTiQsLf
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 12, 2023
“So, speaking of him taking this seriously, this is the kind of thing that can cause government employees to lose a security clearance,” a reporter said. “This is a serious matter, as the White House has said.”
“Was the president sloppy in his handling of classified material if there are multiple locations where classified documents are being found?” the reporter asked.
Jean-Pierre did not answer the question.
"Was the president sloppy in his handling of classified material?"
Karine Jean-Pierre responds by reading his lawyer's statement. pic.twitter.com/lZbPu6WBCT
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 12, 2023
Another reporter pressed Jean-Pierre about whether the administration had been transparent with the American people over the scandal.
“Do you acknowledge that the fact that the White House did not reveal this to the public, despite the fact that you’ve known about it for months, undercuts the president’s promise of being transparent with the American people?” the reporter asked.
“But we — but here’s the thing: They were transparent,” Jean-Pierre claimed.
“But not to the American people,” the reporter pushed back.
“There was — there was transparency in doing what you’re supposed to do when these — when these items were discovered,” Jean-Pierre responded.
The reporter again pushed back, “But not with the American people.”
"Do you acknowledge that the fact that the White House did not reveal this to the public despite the fact that you've known about it for months undercuts the president's promise of being transparent?"
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: No pic.twitter.com/5Jxg8IxkbJ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 12, 2023
Jean-Pierre then ignored reporters who asked about getting visitor logs from Biden’s Delaware home released so people can see anyone who could have potentially had access to the documents.
As a reporter starts to ask Karine Jean-Pierre about releasing the visitor logs to Biden’s Delaware home, she calls on a different reporter so they will “ask a question that was not related” to the classified documents. pic.twitter.com/PcGkjMqrfM
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 12, 2023
Reporter: “How can you say this was transparent when you sat on this information for more than two months?”
Karine Jean-Pierre ignores the question. pic.twitter.com/AfJuN2rRCS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 12, 2023
When pressed Friday about if the White House’s policy was that the administration “should share that information not just with the National Archives, but with the American people,” Jean-Pierre responded by claiming “the actions that we took were right.”
Karine Jean-Pierre on the “discovery” of classified materials in Biden’s home, office, and garage: “The actions that we took were right actions.” pic.twitter.com/hQFyKedZYk
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 13, 2023
When asked when Biden might speak more on the matter, Jean-Pierre said that she does not “have a magic wand.”
Q: “The president said he hopes to speak about [the improperly stored classified documents] soon. When can people expect to hear from him?”
Karine Jean-Pierre: "I don't have a magic wand" pic.twitter.com/t9N4O7llMd
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 13, 2023
