Jean-Pierre shows her displeasure when reporter rejects her excuse on Biden's 'cheat sheet' controversy



White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre showed her displeasure on Thursday when a reporter refused to buy her claims about President Joe Biden's press conference "cheat sheet."

What is the background?

At a press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday, a photographer captured an image of a card Biden held in his hand, telling him which reporters to call on and, seemingly, providing the president with advance knowledge of the questions that the pre-selected reporters would ask.

The image showed that Los Angeles Times reporter Courtney Subramanian had been selected to ask the first question. The question she asked at the press conference was not word-for-word identical to what Biden had on his card, but the content of the question was the same.

What did KJP say?

In response to questions from Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, Jean-Pierre denied the question was submitted to the White House in advance, instead claiming the White House simply anticipated the question Subramanian would ask.

"We do not have specific questions in advance," Jean-Pierre said, explaining Subramanian was chosen to ask a question because of the number of Koreans who live in California.

But reporter Jon Decker was not buying the explanation.

"Is it your contention that the question on the so-called cheat sheet was not similar to the question that was asked at the press conference?" he interjected.

Jean-Pierre, however, refused to answer the question. She accused Decker of interrupting Heinrich, though the Fox News reporter was not speaking at the time Decker asked his question. In fact, it appeared that Jean-Pierre was about to call on another reporter when Decker asked his question.

04/27/23: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre www.youtube.com

After Heinrich asked two more questions, Jean-Pierre said she would take a question from the back of the press room — Decker sits toward the front — and he called her out on it.

"You literally just told me you would come back to me," he said.

Accusing Decker of "screaming," Jean-Pierre responded, "but now we’re running out of time." She never called on Decker and she did not answer his question, either directly or in substance.

What did the LA Times say?

The Los Angeles Times denied that Subramanian submitted her question in advance of the press conference.

"Our reporter did not submit any questions in advance of the Q&A with President Biden. Courtney Subramanian covers the White House for the Los Angeles Times. As such, she is in regular contact with the White House press office seeking information for her reporting. You would have to ask the White House who prepared the document for the president and why they included that question," said Hillary Manning, VP of communications for the LA Times.

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Jean-Pierre snaps when reporter calls her out for giving 'non-answer' after he collapses her excuse for stonewalling



White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre lost her cool on Wednesday when a reporter dismantled her reason for stonewalling reporters who ask about President Joe Biden's improper retention of classified documents.

What is the background?

As the Justice Department was investigating former President Donald Trump for retaining classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, Biden condemned his predecessor in an interview with "60 Minutes."

Biden said he was shocked that "anyone could be that irresponsible."

"Totally irresponsible," Biden said.

What happened with KJP?

The national press is growing increasingly frustrated with the Biden administration for not answering questions about the discovery of classified documents in Biden's private office and residence. The chief reason cited is the White House does not want to interfere with the Justice Department's investigation.

That is the exact point that Gray Television correspondent Jon Decker pressed after citing Biden's "60 Minutes" remarks.

"First of all, do you think it was proper for President Biden to comment on an ongoing DOJ investigation?" he asked.

The question clearly frustrated Jean-Pierre. She refused to answer it and declared, "I’m going to leave it there. Not going to go into it further."

"I'm simply asking you to comment on the person that you work for — his comments," Decker responded.

"I just commented," Jean-Pierre protested.

"Well, it's not really a comment," Decker fired back.

The two continued to talk over one another — Jean-Pierre claiming she answered the question, Decker saying that she did not — as Jean-Pierre tried to call on another reporter.

"You gave a non-answer answer," Decker interjected.

"It's your opinion. It's your opinion. That is your opinion," Jean-Pierre pleaded.

01/18/23: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre youtu.be

Later, NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander called out Jean-Pierre for the runaround she has been giving reporters. In fact, the Justice Department has not directed the White House not to speak about the investigation, he said.

"We've all reached out to the Department of Justice," he explained. "A law enforcement official tells NBC News the Justice Department has not told the White House that it cannot talk about the facts underlying the special counsel investigation into declassified documents."

Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich highlighted the same endless circle. She told Jean-Pierre that the White House has orchestrated an "information blackout" in which she refers reporters to the Justice Department or White House counsel and each of those entities refer reporters to each other.

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