Lots of Questions, But Same Evasive Answer Wednesday at the White House About Biden Classified Documents
(CNSNews.com) – “I’m just not going to go beyond what the president said. I’m not going to go beyond what the president said,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a White House briefing repeatedly on Wednesday, as reporters peppered her with questions about the classified documents found in a Washington, D.C., office that Joe Biden used following his time as vice president.
The office was funded by the University of Pennsylvania, reportedly with donations from China.
The White House briefing occurred before news broke that additional classified documents have been found in another Biden location that was not specified.
“Aides to President Joe Biden have discovered at least one additional batch of classified documents in a location separate from the Washington office he used after leaving the Obama administration, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“Since November, after the discovery of documents with classified markings in his former office, Biden aides have been searching for any additional classified materials that might be in other locations he used, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details about the ongoing inquiry.
“The White House did not reply to a request for comment. The Justice Department had no comment.”
Several White House reporters actually asked Jean-Pierre about the possibility that the discovery of classified documents in the Penn Biden Center office could lead to similar discoveries in other Biden locations:
“Has he asked his lawyer, has he looked into whether any other documents have been taken to any other office that he has, whether Wilmington, Rehobeth, has there been any kind of, like, audit that’s been done where he may — where there may be any others that they know about?” one reporter asked.
“I’m just not going to speak to this…from here,” Jean-Pierre said.
Here are some of the other questions, some paraphrased for brevity, that reporters asked Jean-Pierre on Wednesday, as she gave the same answer over and over:
— When was Biden briefed on the discovery of the documents? (“Again, I’m not going to get into the details, I’m not going to get beyond what the president shared yesterday,” Jean-Pierre said.)
— Why the two-month delay in informing the public? another reporter asked. (“This is under review by the Department of Justice. I’m not going to go beyond what the president shared yesterday,” Jean-Pierre said.)
— “Have you spoken to the president about the documents and their discovery?” (“I have not spoken to the president about any of this,” Jean-Pierre said.)
— It’s not clear how the documents got to the Penn-Biden Center, another reporter started to ask. (Jean-Pierre interrupted him, saying, “Steve, I appreciate the question, it’s under review.”)
— “Are you aware of any conversation in the West Wing about others, people other than the president, about disclosing this once it was discovered?” a reporter asked. (“What I can tell you is that I’m not going to go beyond what the president laid out…” Jean-Pierre said.)
— Did the failure to disclose the discovery of the classified documents have anything to do with the fact that the election was just a few days away? (“Again, Ed, this is under review by the Department of Justice…”Jean-Pierre said.)
— Has the president requested a review of the documents by the intelligence community? (“I would refer you to the Department of Justice…” Jean-Pierre said.)
— Is there a log showing how many times Biden went to his office at the Penn-Biden Center? (“I do not know of such a log,” Jean-Pierre said.)
— “Does this undercut the president’s promise of transparency that these documents were not revealed for several months after the White House discovered them?” (“When his lawyers realized that these documents were there, they turned them over to the Archives. They did the right thing,” Jean-Pierre said.)
— “On these documents, how could anyone be that irresponsible? (pause) Isn’t that what this president said about mishandling classified documents?” Peter Doocy asked. (“The president spoke to this personally. He spoke to this personally. He — again, he believes that classified documents and information should be taken seriously. He takes those seriously — and he was surprised to learn [about the discovery of the records in the Penn-Biden Center],” Jean-Pierre said.
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