Earlier this week, the Biden administration's Department of Defense announced it had reached a plea deal with the masterminds of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The death penalty is now thus off the table. Predictably, there was considerable outrage from the victims' family members and lawmakers, as Leah covered. During Thursday's briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded questions on the matter, though she didn't have very much helpful information to offer.
As one of the many questions about such a plea deal, Jean-Pierre was asked "does [Biden] have a message to some of the 9/11 families who wanted to see a full trial, who wanted to see this kind of come to a fuller process?"
What Jean-Pierre first said in response was not an apology or to offer condolences, but rather to repeat what someone else had said, in this case National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who also spoke during the briefing.
"So, look, this is basically what Jake said, this is something that we had no involvement in," she offered, looking to wash her hands of the matter. "He didn’t have any involvement in. And so, the pl--the White House played no role in this process. And the president directed his--his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers and Department of Defense, obviously," she continued to note, speaking about the president.
"And, you know, we have said this before, you know, we--we are--you know, our hearts go out to the families who lost the loved ones on that--on that day. And, you know, the president on 9/11 has honored them every year and the families who, again, who lost their loved one on that terrible day," she then went on to say.
Jean-Pierre also reiterated a "continued commitment" that the White House and Biden supposedly have. "And we remain committed--this administration--remain committed to ensuring that the military commission process is fair and delivers justice to the victims, survivors, families, and those--and those accused of crimes," she offered.
This is typical from the administration and Jean-Pierre. It's also a particularly sensitive topic, though. Nick Arama, in writing for our sister site of RedState, also had some great commentary on just how badly the press secretary messed up here.
In calling Jean-Pierre's answer "so disgraceful," Arama also highlighted how she "kept looking down and could barely even pick her head up to look the reporters in the eye[.]" And, as he also noted:
KJP claimed the White House had "no involvement" in the decision. "The White House played no role in this process," she claimed. She said they directed their team to consult "with officials and lawyers in the Department of Defense" as appropriate. She declared that their hearts went out to the families, and Biden recognized 9/11 each year. Does she get how cold and lacking in care for Americans this is?
People were understandably upset that she was trying to run away from any responsibility for actions by their own administration.
...
As far as Biden always recognizing 9/11, we reported last year how he blew off going to any of the attack sites on that day. He didn't want to do anything to amend his schedule to meet the moment, apparently.
Jean-Pierre was also asked about outrage from the NYC Firefighters Union about the plea deal. She pretty much just had more of the same to offer.
As a reporter mentioned, the statement from the union revealed that, "we are disgusted and disappointed that these three terrorists were given a plea deal and allowed to escape the ultimate justice while each month three more heroes from the FDNY are dying from World Trade Center illnesses."
When asked about the administration's message for the firefighters, Jean-Pierre at least began this time by offering that "look, our hearts--our hearts go out." The very next thing she said, though, was to claim "I mean, not much more that I can add to what you heard from the national security advisor and how I just answered the question to one of your colleagues."
"We didn’t have a role in this. This was not something that we were involved in," she continued with, though, reiterating yet another point. "And so, we are determined to make sure that they get justice--these families get justice," she added, though Jean-Pierre also said "I just don’t have anything else to add to what the national security advisor just--just stated from here moments ago."
REPORTER: The NYC Firefighters Union put out a statement condemning the 9/11 plea deal. Does the administation have a message for them?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 1, 2024
KJP: "Our hearts go out to the families who lost a loved one. We didn’t have a role in this." pic.twitter.com/Z5T2ddoOMj
Towards the end of the briefing, Jean-Pierre not only again sought to emphasize "we were not involved," but even revealed that "this is something that--that we learned about yesterday."
It came as part of an answer where the press secretary yet again claimed that Biden "has been always very clear" on something, in this case the death penalty.
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