Reporter at Briefing Asks About WH Memo On Covering Biden Impeachment: Why Did You Think ‘Sending That Was Necessary?’
The Hill White House correspondent Alex Gangitano asked Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about a memo to the media on covering the GOP impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden — asking her to explain why it was “necessary to send that?”
On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced he was calling for the launch of an impeachment inquiry without a vote of the full House, in the face of a membership that can’t provide sufficient support to prevail in such a vote. Shortly thereafter, CNN reported that Trump privately coordinated with House GOP members on impeachment strategy.
The White House immediately went on the offensive, with White House Spokesperson for Oversight & Investigations Ian Sams putting out a statement and making the rounds on cable news. And on Wednesday morning, Sams dropped a 16-page dossier demanding the media “do your job” and call out Republican “lies.”
The impeachment came up a lot at Wednesday’s White House press briefing, but despite the strong media criticism contained in it, the memo barely came up at all — and not until the very end of the briefing.
After over an hour of questions on topics that ran the gamut — including several about the impeachment — Gangitano asked for “background” on the decision to send the memo.
Jean-Pierre used the question as an opportunity to slam the inquiry once more over the Republicans who have said there is “no evidence” to support the inquiry — and who are cited in the memo:
ALEX GANGITANO: Thanks, Karine. On the memo that was sent out to news organizations about covering this impeachment inquiry, can you give us some background into the decision-making of why you thought sending that was necessary?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m going to leave that to the White House Counsel — from my colleagues who sent that — that memo. It just laid out, really, kind of specifically as to how we see this process has moved forward, how there is no evidence. It’s not even coming from us. It’s coming from Republicans in — in Congress. We’ve been very clear about that.
I actually think that memo lays out pretty — pretty — in pretty good detail of why we felt it was important to put that out. I’m just not going to get beyond what my colleague has shared with all of you.
Watch above via The White House.
