White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to commentTuesday on special counsel John Durham’s report on former President Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia in 2016 — saying she’ll leave the comments for the Department of Justice.
Durham concluded his four-year review with a scathing 300-page report, which found that the FBI and Department of Justice failed to observe “strict fidelity to the law” in the Trump-Russia probe.
Even though the Durham report was released Monday, Jean-Pierre was only asked once about it during a White House Press Briefing on Tuesday.
“What is the White House reaction to special counsel report on how the FBI handled the Trump-Russia probe?” RealClearNews reporter Philip Wegmann asked.
Jean-Pierre replied, “I would leave it to the Department of Justice to speak to that.”
White House press secretary declined to answer questions on John Durham’s report on the Trump-Russia collusion investigation. White HouseSeemingly unsatisfied with her response, Wegmann pressed further, “The president talks often 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 there needs to be wholesale changes at the FBI?”
“Again, that is with the Department of Justice,” Jean-Pierre quickly replied, closing her briefing book. “That’s not something that I’m going to speak from the podium. 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 said the last two years.”
The quick exchange left social media users in a tizzy firing off at Jean-Pierre’s lackluster response, especially considering her own personal history with the Russia collusion allegation.
“Thank you so much. I’ll see you guys in Japan,” she said while leaving the podium before any more questions could be asked. White HouseBefore she became White House press secretary, Jean-Pierre wrote several tweets over the years supporting the theory that Trump was “illegitimate” and took part in Russian collusion — something Twitter users did not seem to forget.
What to know about the bombshell Durham report
Special counsel John Durham completed a four-year review of the FBI’s investigation of allegations that Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia
Durham found the FBI’s probe was “seriously flawed” and had no basis in evidence, according to a 306-page report released Monday.
The special prosecutor found that FBI officials “discounted or willfully ignored material information that did not support the narrative of a collusive relationship between Trump and Russia.”
Durham also found investigators put too much faith in information provided by Trump’s political opponents and carried out surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page without genuinely believing there was probable cause to do so.
Despite the scathing findings, Durham did not recommend criminal prosecutions or widespread FBI reforms, writing that “the answer is not the creation of new rules but a renewed fidelity to the old.”
Durham’s investigation lasted more than four years, longer than the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe itself.
In a December 2016 tweet, Jean-Pierre agreed with then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that Trump’s campaign was “all in” on Russia interference, writing, “Flynn, Manafort and The Donald himself (inviting Russia to partake in espionage on our election) #PutinLoveAffair.”
Durham’s 300-page report found that the FBI and Department of Justice “failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law” regarding its investigation into possible Russian collusion with the Trump campaign in 2016. REUTERSIn 2018 she tweeted, “And, Russia is still winning because his puppet Trump continues to flagrantly degrade America’s standing on the global stage.”
Ted Cruz communications adviser Steve Guest posted images of some of Jean-Pierre’s tweets, writing, “It’s no surprise KJP fled the podium… she is guilty of pushing the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ nonsense.”
Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy also cited her past tweets, writing, “Not surprising that Karine wouldn’t want to weigh in, since she said 2016 was ‘stolen’ & praised Jimmy Carter for saying Trump ‘didn’t actually win.’ She tweeted about convincing Electoral College to reject Trump & was MoveOn’s spox as it joined that effort.”
Though the report dropped on Monday, only RealClearNews reporter Philip Wegmann referred to Durham’s report and asked for a reaction at the White House press briefing. AP“She’s deflecting and she isn’t even good at it. Psaki was a lot better with her ‘circle back’ responses,” journalist Ian Miles Cheong chimed in.
“He asked for the WHITE HOUSE reaction, K — just say ‘we don’t have one for you,’ Newsbusters executive editor Tim Graham quipped.
Josh Hawley’s communications director Abigail Monroe joined in, “The ‘muh norms and institutions’ crowd has nothing to say?? weird…”
Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich noted, “Jake Sullivan, who pushed and helped concoct the Russia hoax when he worked for the Clinton campaign in 2016, is Biden’s National Security Advisor, and the White House still punts to DOJ.”
