While many of her colleagues and their respective networks have refused to cover the bombshell news in the Durham investigation, Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich brought it up during Monday’s White House press briefing, repeatedly pressing Principal Deputy Press Secretary and former MSNBCer Karine Jean-Pierre for answers on whether Team Biden supports spying on political opponents.
Of course, Jean-Pierre wanted nothing to do with her queries about a filing from Special Counsel John Durham that an indicted Clinton campaign attorney paid to have a tech company surveil the computers of Trump Tower and the Trump White House during and after the 2016 election.
Heinrich shifted gears from asking about the Russia-Ukraine crisis to “this news about the Durham investigation” and whether Biden has “have any concerns about a candidate for president using computer experts to infiltrate computer systems of competing candidates, or even the president-elect to — for the goal of creating a narrative.”
She tried to ask another question, but Jean-Pierre cut her off and, instead of reading lengthy statements from her binder (as she did for most other questions), she said “[t]hat’s something I can’t speak to from this podium, so I refer you to the Department of Justice.”
Heinrich tried again by broadly pulling back in much the same way her colleague Peter Doocy has masterfully done: “Is what being described in that report — monitoring Internet traffic — is that spying?”
Jean-Pierre didn’t budge and reiterated her first answer, leaving Heinrich to try one last time by questioning whether they’d consider whether “monitoring internet traffic” “generally speaking” would be seen as spying.
Playing the role of Psaki well, Jean-Pierre moved on, reiterating her two-part answer with one addition about how her “answer is not going to change.”
But with Jean-Pierre’s friends in the liberal broadcast and cable networks having largely ignored it as ABC, CBS, and NBC still on the sidelines and MSNBC having stayed silent until Tuesday morning, who can blame her?
To see the relevant transcript from February 14's briefing, click “expand.”
White House press briefing [via FNC’s Your World]
February 14, 2022
4:01 p.m. EasternJACQUI HEINRICH: And then, on a second topic, this news about the Durham investigation: Does the President have any concerns about a candidate for president using computer experts to infiltrate computer systems of competing candidates, or even the president-elect to — for the goal of creating a narrative? Is that something that —
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: That’s something I can’t speak to from this podium, so I refer you to the Department of Justice.
HEINRICH: Is what being described in that report — monitoring Internet traffic — is that spying?
JEAN-PIERRE: Again, I can’t speak to that report. I refer you to the Department of Justice.
HEINRICH: Generally speaking though, would monitoring Internet traffic be —
JEAN-PIERRE: Jacqui, my answer is not going to change. I refer you to the Department of Justice.
HEINRICH: Okay.
JEAN-PIERRE: I can’t speak to that from here.
