White House Reporter Chews Up 69 Seconds Letting Everyone Know She Is Friends With Stevie Wonder
'Is the White House amenable to sitting down with Stevie Wonder?'
Mayorkas stops reporter mid-sentence after she repeats debunked narrative — but his response is even more telling
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas fact-checked reporter April Ryan on Thursday after she accused Border Patrol agents of having whipped Haitian migrants.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the exchange is Mayorkas' admission that the Border Patrol agents are innocent.
What happened?
At the White House press briefing, Ryan, a correspondent for the Grio, asked Mayorkas how the Biden administration is caring for black migrants. That's when she regurgitated the debunked falsehood about migrant whipping.
"The southern border is not just Mexicans. It is Haitians, it's Africans, as we've seen, particularly with that issue with the Haitians being whipped with the reins on the horses. What is there —" she said before Mayorkas interjected.
"Well, let me just correct you right there," he interrupted. "Actually, the investigation concluded that the whipping did not occur."
But Ryan still pushed back.
"I’m sorry, I saw it differently. They were whipped with something from the horse — reins from a horse," she responded. "Maybe the video or the picture was fixed, but what I saw was totally different."
Mayorkas fired back, "Yeah, I'm going to leave you as corrected."
\u201cMayorkas corrects April Ryan when she brings up the "Haitians being whipped with the reins of the horses," noting "the investigation concluded that the whipping did not occur."\n\nRyan: "Maybe either the video or the picture was fixed but what I saw was totally different."\u201d— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1683826542
Wait, what did Mayorkas just say?
After Democrats and the media feigned outrage against mounted Border Patrol agents by accusing them of "whipping" Haitian migrants, Homeland Security initiated an investigation and President Joe Biden promised the agents would "pay."
But witnesses — including the photographer who snapped the infamous images — quickly debunked the false narrative. The Biden administration, however, has never publicly exonerated the mounted Border Patrol agents, until Thursday apparently.
The closest the government has come to clearing the agents of guilt was a report from Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility, which admonished the agents for using "unnecessary" force but concluded that agents never whipped migrants. The report was released last summer.
There has not been, however, an admission from a top official like Mayorkas that the Border Patrol agents are innocent.
Despite the CBP report, some of the agents were reportedly subjected to discipline, according to Fox News, and the administration has never — at least publicly — said the investigation is closed.
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How Corporate Media’s Top Dogs Box Out Real Reporters From Asking The White House Tough Questions
If you’ve ever watched a press briefing and felt like everyone was asking the same questions, it’s because the corporate media drones are usually the only ones getting any.Reporter tries to connect gas prices and race — but Energy Secretary Granholm refuses to buy it
Reporter April Ryan tried to argue on Monday that "urban areas" are disproportionately impacted by the gas price crisis and even suggested that race played a role.
But not even Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm bought it.
What happened?
At the White House press briefing, Ryan claimed without evidence that urban communities did not benefit from government action when gas prices were sky-high last year.
"When the president did release the strategic oil reserves .... there were some communities that felt the relief. Other communities did not, particularly those in urban areas; there was price gouging, etc.," Ryan began. "Could you explain why there was such a difference in communities with gas prices in one community versus the other?
In response, Granholm noted that there was a difference — but in rural communities.
"If you’re not near a refinery, that’s another reason why the transportation costs are tacked on at the pump," she said. "So you’re seeing, for example, when refineries go down in regions, then the prices go up in those regions much more than they would nationwide."
01/23/23: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre youtu.be
Not satisfied, Ryan then explicitly invoked race.
"But specifically, the urban areas. Because there was still a big pinch in urban areas with these gas prices when the outlying communities, particularly majority white communities, were seeing the drop to $3, and many of these urban areas were seeing $4 and $5 gas prices. Could you speak to that?" she followed up.
Granholm, however, did not buy the purported connection.
The secretary informed Ryan that most gas stations are owned by individuals and reiterated that price gouging is illegal. But it was difficult for Granholm to give a substantive response because Ryan made her claims without supporting evidence.
Anything else?
Earlier in the briefing, a reporter confronted Granholm about the Biden administration's double standard on gas prices. When they were high last year, Biden blamed Russia. But he took credit when they decreased.
With gas prices increasing again, the reporter asked, "The president took credit for the prices coming down. ... Does the president get credit for the price of gas going up?"
Granholm responded that "obviously" the price increase is "based upon international and climate events."
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Joe Biden Said Anita Hill Is A Liar. So Why Would He Ask Her About His Supreme Court Nominee?
Since the Hill-Thomas hearings, the left has pushed a baseless story that Joe Biden unfairly treated Anita Hill. This is balderdash.CNN's April Ryan suggests media should ignore info that damages Biden, gets summarily torched
Reporter April Ryan, a political analyst for CNN, is being condemned for suggesting on Thursday that journalists should not expose contradictions between what Joe Biden says privately and what he says publicly.
Ryan's comments came after The Intercept obtained and reported on leaked audio of Biden admitting that Republicans "beat the hell out of" Democrats during last month's election for generally embracing the "defund the police" agenda.
The Biden transition team later defended the remarks, despite the comments rebuking the progressive vision for criminal justice reform.
What did Ryan say?
In response to the leaked audio, Ryan suggested the real story behind the remarks is why they were leaked.
"The question is who leaked this and why? Also I am told by a rights leader in that meeting that @JoeBiden was being more so passionate than defensive. Can't wait to hear what the Biden camp has to say!" Ryan tweeted.
The question is who leaked this and why? Also I am told by a rights leader in that meeting that @JoeBiden was being… https://t.co/LpLN6L2mTu— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan)1607625541.0
Ryan later doubled down on that sentiment, again questioning why Biden's comments were leaked.
"I asked an incoming White House source was the meeting contentious with civil rights leader and @JoeBiden and the answer was 'no'. A rights leader at the meeting says @JoeBiden was passionate. The question is who taped this meeting and why? What is the agenda?" Ryan said.
What was the reaction?
Vice journalist Edward Ongweso Jr. highlighted the absurdity of Ryan's response to the leaked audio by mocking her reaction.
Ongweso tweeted:
It is irresponsible and sets a dangerous precedent for journalists covering the incoming administration to be able to use secretly recorded conversations in their stories. To parse out Biden's thoughts and anticipate his policy commitments, you must go through proper channels. The White House Press Secretary, the spokespeople for the President and Vice President, senior officials (without attribution), and the President's public statements are all designated and responsible sources for information about the President's thoughts and intentions. Revealing a contradiction between Biden's private thoughts and public statements is dangerous because it erodes public trust in the President, the Office, and the media itself.
Ryan, however, apparently did not understand that she was being mocked, replying, "You hit the nail on the head! This is not good at all."
folks...I can’t https://t.co/9JaA27rdhV— Edward Ongweso Jr (@Edward Ongweso Jr)1607717229.0
Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School and self-described "liberal," also tore into Ryan, calling her reaction to the leaked audio something that "would make a Stalinist propagandist blush."
"The fact is that Ryan was just stating what has become the approach of many in the media. As we recently discussed, we are moving dangerously close to a de facto state media with the cooperation of Big Tech companies," Turley wrote. "Ryan believes that it is outrageous to rely on unapproved material if it is critical of Joe Biden (despite her use of such material for the last four years against Trump)."
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