Former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee urged reporters who are frustrated over the White House’s lack of transparency to get tough and push harder instead of complaining.
Huckabee, while speaking on the John Solomon Reports podcast, said he hopes members of the press would step up their game and keep asking tough questions from President Joe Biden’s administration.
“I’m hoping that somewhere in that room other than a couple of Fox News journalists, there will be some people from the mainstream media that will say ‘That’s enough. These people are not being truthful,’” Huckabee said on the podcast. “‘They’re hiding criminal activity and it’s time for us to expose it for what it is.’”
Huckabee added that White House reporters are finally realizing that Biden’s administration is playing them for “chumps.” Huckabee said if the reporters do nothing, then they deserve the treatment the administration is handling them.
Huckabee also noted that the Department of Justice and the White House are bouncing reporters around regarding the classified document discovered at Biden’s private office and in his Delaware home.
“Reporters are told to go call the DOJ. They called the DOJ, and the DOJ tells them to talk to the White House,” Huckabee said. “The White House says, ‘Well, we can’t discuss it.’ And the DOJ says ‘Oh yes they can. They can discuss anything they want to. They’re not bound by any particular rules.’”
Awaiting Jean-Pierre. The DOJ has confirmed that the White House is not prevented from discussing the underlying facts. That removes the opportunistic use of the investigation as a shield from questions, but not necessarily the stonewalling of the scandal…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) January 20, 2023
Huckabee’s advice comes after the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre misled reporters and the American public when she claimed on Jan. 11 that the search for classified documents in Biden’s position was completed. Jean-Pierre stated on six different occasions that the search was complete.
Jean-Pierre's referral to the legal process to refuse to answer any questions, including about her own role in conveying false or misleading information, is entirely opportunistic. Clearly many of these questions can be answered without undermining the investigation.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) January 17, 2023
Contrary to Jean-Pierre’s claims, more classified documents were later discovered at Biden’s home on Jan.12. When asked why she lied, Jean-Pierre claimed she didn’t know the search was ongoing. Jean-Pierre claimed she was repeating the same information the White House lawyers gave her.
I asked @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre whether she is still a good fit for the job of press secretary after her recent performance on classified documents as frustration grows in the room with some reporters describing the briefing as a 'waste of time'. WATCH pic.twitter.com/wSG8kUboxL
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 21, 2023
So far, three sets of classified documents have been discovered at Biden’s private office and home.
