White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is criticizing reporters for asking if cocaine belonged to a member of President Joe Biden’s family.
On Friday, a reporter noted deputy press secretary Andrew Bates sidestepped a question about whether a Biden family member left cocaine at the White House by citing the Hatch Act, which limits federal employee’s involvement in political activities.
She asked, “Can you just say once and for all whether or not the cocaine belonged to the Biden family?”
“So… a couple of things there,” Jean-Pierre began.
She claimed Bates mentioned the Hatch Act to sidestep the question because it referenced former President Donald Trump. She also urged reporters to read the full transcript, in which Bates went on to take a jab at members of the Trump administration and suggest they were frustrated by Biden’s accomplishments and making allegations about cocaine in response.
Watch the video below:
Reporter: Can you just say once and for all whether or not the cocaine belonged to the Biden family?
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 7, 2023
KJP: They were not here on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday so to ask that question is incredibly irresponsible.. pic.twitter.com/lZJ4mOfZRY
Jean-Pierre continued:
“There has been some irresponsible reporting about the [Biden] family. And so I gotta call that out here… The Biden family was not here. They were not here. They were at Camp David. They were not here Friday, they were not here Saturday, they were not here Sunday, they were not even here Monday. They came back on Tuesday.”
She added, “So to ask that question is actually incredibly irresponsible. And I’ll just leave it there.”
Cocaine was discovered on Sunday evening and prompted an evacuation.
Opponents of Biden can parse Jean-Pierre’s statement and note she did not say, “No, the cocaine unequivocally did not come from a Biden.” Instead, she noted the Biden family was not there when it was discovered.
And here we see a prime example of why Biden should hire a new communications team.
From what we know of the timeline alone, it is implausible the cocaine was left by a Biden family member. Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany shot down the idea that a white powder would be left in the building for several days without anyone noticing it.
But the refusal to definitively answer the question allows the rumors to fester for no good reason. All they have to say is “no.” And then Jean-Pierre could go off about how it is an irresponsible question.
What is so hard about simply and unequivocally denying the suggestion the cocaine came from a Biden?