Biden WH Scolds Reporters At Briefing For ‘Incredibly Irresponsible’ And ‘Questionable’ Cocaine Reporting

Two Biden White House spokespersons scolded reporters over “questionable” and “incredibly irresponsible” cocaine reporting at a briefing this week.

The Secret Service discovered a suspicious powder Sunday night, initial testing of which indicated the substance was cocaine — after which a full lab panel confirmed the preliminary test, and coverage of the discovery dominated news coverage in a slow summer news week.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Friday’s briefing, during which each seized opportunities to chide reporters about the handling of the cocaine issue.

Q Thank you, Jake. Five days after cocaine was found here in the White House, congressional Republicans seem like they’re very close to launching some sort of formal investigation. I’m curious, from a national security perspective: A, what was your reaction when the drugs were found? And, B, was there any risk to security either to the President, to your staff, anybody that would work out of the Sit Room for this stuff to be so close to where you work?

MR. SULLIVAN: So, first, I would refer to the Secret Service when it comes to questions of the security of the President. I won’t speak to that.

Second, I would make a point about the Situation Room because I think there’s been a lot of questionable reporting on this. The Situation Room is not in use and has not been in use for months because it is currently under construction. We are using an alternate Situation Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. So the only people coming in and going out of the Sit Room in this period have been workers who are getting it ready to go.

By the way, it’s on time and on schedule to be — (laughter) — to be back on station here in the not-too-distant future.

Q But —

MR. SULLIVAN: But no, there was no issue with the Situation Room relative to this.

And then, finally, look, we have rigorous drug testing policies at the White House. We have rigorous drug use policies here at the White House. We take those extremely seriously. So we’ll let the investigation unfold. If it involves someone from the White House, the appropriate consequences will ensue. If it involves some visitor who came in and left it, then that’s a different matter that raises a different set of questions that are less relevant to my line of work. So I will leave it at that.

But I do not believe at present, as things stand here at the podium today, that we are facing some national security threat — ongoing national security threat.

Q About the drugs.

MR. SULLIVAN: Yeah, yeah, exactly. We are facing other national security threats.

Another reporter asked KJP a question that referenced an answer White House Deputy Press Secretary and Senior Communications Adviser Andrew Bates gave during an Air Force One briefing, and Jean-Pierre bristled at the “incredibly irresponsible” underlying implication:

Q Sorry to bring up cocaine again. (Laughter.) But there was a question yesterday during press gaggle with Andrew Bates that was — I guess — he said that it had — he didn’t — he was avoiding it because of the Hatch Act.

I’m just asking again: Can you just say once and for all whether or not the cocaine belonged to the Biden family? (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, a couple of things there. He mentioned the Hatch Act because the question was posed to him in the Donald —

Q Yes.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — using Donald Trump. And so, he was trying to be very mindful.

Q Yeah. I didn’t do that, so —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay, I hear you. But you’re asking me a question, so I’m answering it for you. And so, that’s why he said the Hatch Act. So I would — I would, you know, have you read the transcript and read the transcript fully so you can see exactly what he was trying to say. So, that’s number one.

So we’re not avoiding the question; that is not true. We’ve answered this question, litigated this question for the last two days exhaustively.

You know, there has been some irresponsible reporting about the family, and — and so I got to call that out here. And I have been very clear. I was clear two days ago when talking about this over and over again, as I was being asked a question.

As you know — and the media outlets reported this — 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. So to ask that question is actually incredibly irresponsible. And — and I’ll just leave it there.

Okay. Okay. I’ll take one more. Go ahead, straight — straight right there. Yep.

Watch above via The White House.

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