White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre continued Wednesday stonewalling questions about President Joe Biden’s classified documents scandal despite repeated claims of providing transparency.
Legal experts believe Jean-Pierre’s refusal to answer questions lacks any legal or logical reason.
“I have to be really careful,” Jean-Pierre repeatedly responded to reporters about the “ongoing investigation.”
“I’d refer you to the White House Counsel’s office,” she added. “He [Biden] takes classified information very seriously.”
Asked when or if Biden would answer questions as promised about the mishandling of classified materials, Jean-Pierre insisted he had answered questions but that there were no plans for the president to speak on the subject.
“I just don’t have anything to preview for your time,” she said:
Wednesday was the latest example of the White House refusing to answer questions about the president’s mishandling of documents amid repeated claims of full transparency after the scandal was leaked to the press on January 9. The initial documents were found by Biden’s personal attorneys on November 2. Multiple reports from establishment media indicate the White House and the Justice Department agreed to hide the scandal from the American public.
Not everyone refused to answer reporters’ questions during the White House press briefing. National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby told reporters that “everybody” is aware of the rules concerning the handling of classified documents.
“John, how hard is it to walk out of a SCIF [sensitive compartmented information facility] with classified material?” Fox News’s Peter Doocy questioned.
“Everybody who goes in to a SCIF knows what the requirements are to go in and knows what the requirements are to go out,” Kirby replied. “You know… you can’t bring personal devices in, and you certainly can’t leave with material unless that material is appropriately secured.”
“And usually, what happens to someone in the chain of command if they do leave with a piece of classified material that they’re not supposed to have or that is not secured?” Doocy followed up.
“I think if, if you do it inadvertently or you do it and you, you realize… you don’t have it secured in a locked bag… you self-report,” Kirby responded.
“Which is exactly what the president did, self-reported,” he claimed:
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.