White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to offer an apology on behalf of herself or President Joe Biden after the pair, along with many others, falsely accused horse mounted Border Patrol agents of wrongdoing by "whipping" Haitians illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in September 2021.
Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy pressed Psaki about their past comments since it has been reported the agents at the center of the controversy have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. The investigation into their actions was first promised by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to be completed within a matter of days, but months later, the final report has not been released.
"There is a process and an investigation that's gone through the Department of Homeland Security. I don't have any update on that," Psaki said.
"The President said that they were whipping people, which would be a criminal offense, and they've been told they won't be criminally charged..." Doocy replied.
"And there was an investigation into that and I'll let the Department of Homeland Security announce any conclusion into that investigation," Psaki interjected.
When Doocy brought up Psaki's comments at the time, saying they did "brutal" and "inappropriate" measures, Psaki again deferred to how they will comment on the issue once the final report is released by DHS.
Jen Psaki refuses to apologize for the White House's smear campaign against border patrol agents who were accused and have now been cleared of whipping migrants at the southern border. pic.twitter.com/8dclkPIEWb
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 18, 2022
The agents were sent to one of the crossings points the Haitians were using to prevent more people from illegally entering the U.S. since the only space for them was the area underneath the international bridge in Del Rio, Texas, which resulted around 15,000 people camping in poor conditions outside since Border Patrol was overwhelmed.