New York Times reporter Michael Shear had a heated clash with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over what he suggested was the Biden administration's selective silence when it comes to responding to legal matters involving former President Trump.
At Tuesday's White House press briefing, Jean-Pierre repeatedly deflected questions about the 34 felony charges Trump is facing leveled by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg involving the 2016 hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
However, Shear grilled her what "the difference" was between commenting on the Trump indictment versus the White House's outspokenness about Jan. 6, which involved hundreds of criminal probes.
Jean-Pierre responded by referring to Jan. 6 as a "devastating day" which led to law enforcement being "attacked" and called the events an "attack on democracy."
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"It was a moment for this president to have spoken to," Jean-Pierre said. "He had millions and millions of Americans who watched what was happening on Capitol Hill, something… many of us have never ever seen before. You know, and it was something that needed to be spoken to when you see something like that, our democracy, literally our democracy under attack. And so the president will never shy away when it comes to our democracy, when it comes to the fabric of who we are as a country and what makes this country what it is. And so it was a different, different moment and a different time."
She continued, "When it comes to these types of cases, these criminal specific cases, we're just not gonna comment… I get you. I know there's a broader question of what this means, the precedent and what the president is going to decide or make decisions that he might make, like hypothetical questions. I'm just not going to comment from here on that."
Shear pushed back, saying "500 cases" were brought by those who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, but Jean-Pierre doubled down, stressing "people died" as a result of those events.
"Karine, I don't need a lecture on the fact that people died," Shear swiped the White House press secretary.
"But you're lecturing me!" Jean-Pierre exclaimed.
"I'm not!" Shear shot back. "I'm asking questions and what I'm saying is there are millions of people out there watching today.- you call January 6 ‘historic.’ It was absolutely historic. None of us have ever seen that before. Nobody's seen this before either."
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"There are millions and millions of Americans watching [for] the first time in 250 years a former president be hauled into court and processed for arrest. That means something. That has some effect, potentially, I suspect on American democracy and on how the rest of the world- the president has talked a lot about how the rest of the world sees the United States in the wake of January 6, totally valid. Why isn't that- why isn't there a similar kind of assessment about how the world is watching us now?" he followed.
"I hear your question. January 6, is just- was a different moment. It just was," Jean-Pierre told Shear. "It was something that was incredibly devastating. People died on that day and were harmed. And it was just- it was just something that we saw visually that we reacted to, and many people were scared in that moment. And as the president was taking office as the next president of the United States, a president that ran on bringing the country together, on protecting our democracy. It was something that it was important to speak to at that moment.
She added, "When it comes to a criminal investigation like this that is ongoing, we are just not going to comment, we're not going to interfere, we're not going to politically interfere from here. And we've been consistent."
Trump pleaded not guilty in the 34 felony count against him what legal critics widely believed was a weak case. The former president is accused of falsifying business records aimed to shield his 2016 presidential campaign. Bragg is zeroing in on the money reimbursed to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen in 2017 after Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 during the election after she threatened to go public about an alleged affair she had with the Republican nominee. Trump has denied her claims.
The next hearing is scheduled for December 4.
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Meanwhile, Trump is potentially facing further legal trouble with other ongoing investigations of his role in reversing the 2020 results in Georgia, his involvement in the events leading up to Jan. 6 as well as his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
