A new week began for an embattled White House on Monday, but Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn't have anything new to say in her failing attempts to brush off questions about President Joe Biden's mishandling of classified documents that just keep getting discovered.
In a Groundhog Day-like opener, Karine Jean-Pierre insisted for the umpteenth time that President Biden takes classified documents "very seriously" following the DOJ's search of Biden's Wilmington house after multiple sets of sensitive documents were found there.
REPORTER: "Every few days it seems we are finding that more documents have been found at his house!"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 23, 2023
KJP: "What I'm telling you is what the president has said, which is he takes this very seriously." pic.twitter.com/sTdyhPFHpQ
So seriously, you see, that he was supposedly "surprised" that classified documents were discovered in his office where Hunter Biden and CCP-affiliated people had access, in his garage next to his Corvette, and multiple other places in his Wilmington house. And remember, Karine Jean-Pierre said on January 12 that the search for classified documents improperly kept in Biden's possession was "complete." A claim followed by two more sets of documents being found and a DOJ search. A "very seriously" inept White House, maybe.
With so many tired excuses being trotted out again, it's more notable at this point what Karine Jean-Pierre did *not* say in Monday's briefing.
For example, when reporters asked on Monday whether there might be more searches by federal authorities, Karine Jean-Pierre didn't give an answer either way — perhaps she's learned not to make definitive statements from the briefing room podium since she clearly doesn't have a clue what's actually going on?
REPORTER: "Should we anticipate other searches are possible?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 23, 2023
KJP: "That part, I would definitely, uh, refer you to the White House Counsel's office." pic.twitter.com/znuDVaWXmX
Jean-Pierre's feet were also held to the fire for Biden's defiant declaration last week that he has "no regrets" about mishandling classified documents or keeping their existence hidden from the American people for months, but Biden's spokeswoman refused to...speak on Biden's behalf. Perhaps even the president's own press secretary has difficulty making sense of his utterances?
REPORTER: "The president said last week that he has no regrets...Why doesn't he have regrets given that classified documents keep turning up?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 23, 2023
KJP: "I'm just not going to go into what he meant or what he didn't mean." pic.twitter.com/yPEbOM19nz
The president's press secretary, notably, refused to deny that President Biden is involved in a cover-up of his mishandling of classified documents, which seems like it should be a pretty easy question to answer if Biden has not, in fact, engaged in a cover-up of his misdeeds regarding sensitive materials.
DOOCY: "Is President Biden involved in a cover-up?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 23, 2023
KJP: "He takes this very seriously...You asked me kind of a question that everybody laughed at, which was an interesting question to ask..." pic.twitter.com/lbCB4xBzT1
Karine Jean-Pierre could not even provide a single solitary example — prior to "garage-gate" — that demonstrated Biden takes classified documents "very seriously" as he claims. Another telling refusal to answer.
.@PhilipWegmann: "When you and the White House and the president all say that the president takes these classified documents very seriously...What would you point us to demonstrate that seriousness?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 23, 2023
KJP: "..."
"You can't demonstrate how he takes it seriously?" pic.twitter.com/zfFo2Qw5JS
More non-answers came when Jean-Pierre was asked who was footing the bill for Biden's private attorney, someone who, along with associates, had been leading the "search" for classified documents in Biden's possession before Friday's DOJ search.
Continuing, in a refusal that betrayed the White House's attitude on what Karine Jean-Pierre tries to minimize as a "legal matter," she wouldn't say that Americans deserve to know such details about the rapidly expanding scandal.
"Who's paying the president's private attorney?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 23, 2023
KJP: "It's his private attorney."
"Don't we deserve to know...?" pic.twitter.com/FqIXKIvcRC
So, Monday brought no new assurances from the White House that there wouldn't be more DOJ searches or classified documents found in Biden's possession during the week ahead, but Jean-Pierre's silence on key questions about whether Biden is engaged in a cover-up, has ever actually treated classified documents seriously, or if Americans deserve to know more about Biden's apparent misdeeds were more damning than anything she actually said.
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