The White House press secretary was chastised for abruptly ending a briefing and “fleeing her podium” without comment when questioned about a recent report on how the FBI handled the Trump-Russia investigation.
When Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Tuesday about the White House’s response to the special counsel’s report, she said it was a matter for the Justice Department to discuss.
Jean-Pierre closed her briefing book and left the stage without further comment, sparking outrage online as social media users accused her of ignoring her own history of pushing the allegation of conspiracy with Russia.
Special Counsel John Durham’s 300-page report, released Monday, found that the Justice Department and FBI “failed to live up to their mission of strict adherence to the law” regarding the investigation into possible conspiracy with Trump and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Durham said the FBI began investigating Trump’s alleged ties to Russia under the flimsiest of pretexts, with no ties between the ex-president and the Kremlin ever discovered.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was gunned down online for abruptly ending a briefing and ‘fleeing her stage’ when grilled about the FBI’s baseless Trump-Russia investigation
A day after the report was released, RealClearNews reporter Philip Wegmann questioned the press secretary about the White House response.
“What is the White House’s response to the special counsel’s report on how the FBI handled the Trump-Russia investigation?” Wegmann asked.
“I would leave it to the Ministry of Justice to talk about that” Jean-Pierre replied.
Wegmann continued to press her on a comment, “The president often talks about how he wants the DOJ and FBI to remain independent and above the fray. That report seems to reflect the opposite. Does he agree with Special Counsel Durham that the FBI needs major changes?’
Jean-Pierre closed her briefing book and replied, “Again, that’s with the Justice Department.”
“That’s not something I’m going to say from the podium,” she continued. “As you just stated in your question, we believe in an independent Department of Justice. That’s what the president said when he was running and that’s what the president has been saying for the past two years.”
Jean-Pierre left her spot on stage without answering any other questions and told reporters, “Thank you very much. I’ll see you in Japan.’
But social media users did not back down the press secretary, accusing her of how she responded to the question.
Jean-Pierre left the stage without further comment, sparking outrage online as social media users accused her of ignoring her own history with the allegation of collusion with Russia
Steve Guest, Ted Cruz’s communications consultant, tweeted, “It’s no surprise that KJP fled the stage… she’s guilty of pushing the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ nonsense”
National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications John Kirby (R) and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (L) answer questions from reporters during a briefing on Tuesday
Steve Guest, Ted Cruz’s communications consultant, tweeted, “It’s no surprise that KJP fled the stage… she’s guilty of pushing the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ nonsense.”
Journalist Ian Miles Cheong agreed, “She’s deviating and she’s not even good at it. Psaki was a lot better with her circle back responses.”
He was referring to former press secretary Jen Psaki, who held the role between 2021 and 2022, and who now hosts her own MSNBC show.
Jean-Pierre had previously posted tweets supporting the theory that former President Donald Trump was “illegitimate” and engaged in Russian collusion, Fox News reported.
In 2018, she wrote, “And Russia is still winning because its puppet Trump continues to blatantly worsen America’s position on the world stage.”
Monday’s report comes after Durham’s years of investigation into the origins of the FBI’s original investigation known as “Crossfire Hurricane.”
Investigators investigated whether the Trump campaign collaborated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.
But the special counsel said senior FBI personnel showed “a serious lack of analytical rigor” and a “significant reliance on investigative leads provided or funded (directly or indirectly) by Trump’s political opponents.”
In a statement, the FBI said the agency’s current leadership has taken dozens of corrective actions.
“Had those reforms taken place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been avoided,” the FBI said in a statement.
In a televised interview Tuesday evening, Trump also responded to the Durham report, saying the findings justify his claims of baseless prosecution.
Special Counsel John Durham has been investigating the FBI investigation for four years
Trump has repeatedly dismissed claims of Russian collusion as a ‘hoax’ and ‘a witch hunt’
“It’s a great vindication and it feels good, and the report has been widely praised,” Trump told Newsmax in a telephone interview.
“All these people are — I think you could call it betrayal. You could call it many different things. But this should never happen again in our country,” Trump said.
Trump also welcomed the Durham report in a post on his Truth Social platform.
‘WOW! After extensive investigation, Special Counsel John Durham concludes that the FBI should never have launched the Trump-Russia probe!” said Trump.
“In other words, the American public was scammed, just as it is now being scammed by those who don’t want to see GREATNESS for AMERICA!” he added, apparently referring to the many ongoing criminal investigations against him.