‘That’s your opinion’: Tempers flare as White House deflects documents questions
W. James Antle III
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Wednesday’s White House briefing was once again dominated by questions about President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, but answers were few.
Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly referred questions about the matter to the White House counsel’s office or the Justice Department, but would not commit to making representatives of either available to reporters in the briefing room.
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“It’s not your decision to make on what I can and can’t answer,” Jean-Pierre told a reporter who complained of an “information blackout.”
Jean-Pierre also had a tense exchange when asked about whether Biden should have commented on former President Donald Trump’s classified documents handling while the matter was under investigation.
“As it related to an ongoing legal matter, I am going to refer you to the DOJ,” she said. “As it relates to anything you want to ask of us about this legal matter, I would refer you to the White House counsel’s office. I’m going to leave it there. I’m not going to go into it further.”
“I’m simply asking you to comment on the person you work for,” the reporter followed up.
“I just commented. I just commented,” Jean-Pierre said. “We’re moving on. I already answered your question.”
When the reporter said that the question remained unanswered, Jean-Pierre shot back, “That’s your opinion.”
The White House press briefings have been contentious ever since the public learned Biden was found to have sensitive government documents at his think tank and private residence in Delaware. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate.
“So, you’re the one here talking to us about this. That’s why we’re asking you. So let’s just remember that,” CBS News’s Ed O’Keefe said last week.
“Ed, Ed, Ed, we don’t need to have this — we work very well together,” Jean-Pierre responded. “We don’t need to have this kind of confrontation. Ask your question, and I will answer them the best that I can.”
“You told us something six times that turned out to be false. Are you sorry about that?” Newsmax’s James Rosen asked on Tuesday.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jean-Pierre replied. “Come talk to me.”
The White House made Ian Sams available for a telephone call with reporters earlier Tuesday. “It’s important to really understand the distinction here: President Biden is committed to doing the responsible thing and acting appropriately,” he said, contrasting the documents from Biden’s vice presidency with Trump’s at Mar-a-Lago. “His team acted promptly to disclose information to the proper authorities and is cooperating fully.”
“Information is going to develop that’s a natural part of any investigation,” Sams said. “As soon as the searches were underway looking for additional documents to be properly handed to the government, we wanted to be respectful to provide as complete information as we could, trying to balance with the need to provide information to you all consistent with the investigation.”
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Jean-Pierre made a point Wednesday of noting that a reporter had underestimated the length of the Sams call, saying it was 45 minutes long.
“Look. Guys. You guys can ask me 100 times, 200 times if you wish,” she said Tuesday. “I’m going to keep saying the same thing … we’re just going to try to move on here, and we’re going to move on.”
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