Latest news with #KarineJeanPierre
Fox News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Oversight chair demands Jean-Pierre, other former WH staff testify on alleged Biden mental decline coverup
An influential House committee is demanding that former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and three other former top White House staffers appear before Congress to testify about the alleged cover-up of former President Joe Biden's mental decline. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has been on the hunt for who was making decisions in Biden's inner circle during the president's apparent mental decline. On Friday, he sent letters to Karine-Pierre and former White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, former senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates and former special assistant to the president Ian Sams, demanding they present themselves for transcribed interviews with the oversight committee. The letters are part of the committee's ongoing investigation into the alleged attempted cover-up of Biden's decline and the potentially unauthorized issuance of sweeping pardons and other executive actions by senior White House officials usurping Biden's presidential authority. In his letters, Comer says the committee believes that the four top Biden staffers have "critical" information on "who made key decisions and exercised the powers of the executive branch during the previous administration, possibly without former President Biden's consent." The letter to Jean-Pierre stated that as White House press secretary and a top Biden confidante, "you were not only near the president daily, but you were 'alongside the ranks of the president's top confidantes.'" "Your assertion, on multiple occasions, that President Biden's decline was attributable to such tactics as 'cheap fakes' or 'misinformation' cannot go without investigation," wrote Comer. He said that "if White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive's condition — or to perform his duties — Congress may need to consider a legislative response." Comer set interview dates in late August and early September and gave the four senior officials until July 4 to confirm they would comply with the demands voluntarily or if they will "require a subpoena to compel your attendance for a deposition." Jean-Pierre, Zients, Bates and Sams are the latest former Biden senior officials to receive a congressional summons from Comer as part of the Oversight Committee's investigation into the alleged cover-up. The chairman also issued subpoenas to Dr. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician, and Anthony Bernal, former assistant to the president and senior advisor to the first lady, after they refused to appear before the committee voluntarily. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Comer said that "as part of our aggressive investigation into the cover-up of his cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized executive actions, we must hear from those who aided and abetted this farce." "President Biden's inner circle repeatedly told the American people that he was 'sharp as ever,' dismissing any commentary about his obvious mental decline as 'gratuitous,'" he said. "They fed these false talking points to progressive allies and the media, who helped perpetuate that President Biden was fit to serve." Jean-Pierre, Zients, Bates and Sams did not reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment before publication.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
‘Barely hanging on' Joy Reid's damning assessment of Democrats: ‘Give me Jasmine Crockett'
Former MSNBC host Joy Reid appeared on The Breakfast Club on Tuesday, saying that while she has been a lifelong Democrat, she's 'barely hanging on.' Reid defended those, such as former Joe Biden-era White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who have departed from the party. Discussing her departure from MSNBC following the February cancellation of her show and her lack of faith in the current Democratic Party, the former host of ReidOut said Democrats have become too worried about disappointing party leaders rather than elevating members like Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett to effectively take on the 'fascism' of President Donald Trump. 'I've been a Democrat since I was old enough to vote, but I'm barely hanging on, honestly, because at this point the party is not bigger than the future of my kids,' Reid said. 'I have a daughter and two sons that have to live in this country as Black people. And fascism don't work for me, you know?' she added. 'And I'm not willing to cede the country to Trumpism and MAGA simply because I'm clinging to this party.' Reid criticized those blasting Jean-Pierre for leaving the party, saying, 'I'm mad at that because … at this point … who cares what the party label is? Give me an effective fighter.' She went on to argue that progressives such as Crockett are the most effective fighters in today's Democratic Party, but noted that the party's mainstream is neglecting them. Crockett ended her bid this week to become the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee. 'It was clear by the numbers that my style of leadership is not exactly what they were looking for, and so I didn't think that it was fair for me to then push forward and try to rebuke that,' Crockett told reporters. During her Breakfast Club appearance on Tuesday, Reid said Democrats should prioritize effective leadership above everything else. 'If Jasmine Crockett is the most effective fighter, give me Jasmine Crockett,' she said. 'And I really don't care what you have to move around or who you have to disappoint in order to give me her. Just give me her because we need a leader.' Reid suggested that it's possible that Democrats are too 'orderly' to put up a proper opposition to the Trump administration. 'They prioritize whose turn it is. Like, Democrats are very orderly,' Reid said. 'They're almost too orderly for fascism. In fascism, you can't be orderly, because the other side is messy.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Former MSNBC star Joy Reid makes surprising announcement about her political leanings
Former MSNBC host Joy Reid has revealed that she's become disillusioned with the Democratic Party to the point where she's 'barely hanging on'. The left-wing commentator said she believes the current Democrat line-up is fueling Donald Trump 's agenda by failing to provide effective political opposition. 'I've been a Democrat since I was old enough to vote, but I'm barely hanging on,' Reid told The Breakfast Club podcast on Tuesday. 'At this point, the party is not bigger than the future of my kids. I have three children, that have to live in this country as black people, and fascism doesn't work for me. 'I'm not willing to cede the country to Trumpism and MAGA simply because I'm clinging to this party.' Reid added that the party desperately needs a new leader, and a fresh ideology. She blasted Trump as having 'no actual talent' - but he still beat the Democrats. 'You have to blow up the whole Democratic Party,' she said. 'I feel like the Democrats need a whole new ideology, because they lost to that,' Reid added, referring to Trump. 'So what does it say about them? You got to just blow it all up. There's nothing to be said from anybody in that old regime.' She defended Joe Biden 's former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for also expressing her dissatisfaction with the party, and leaving to become an independent. 'People getting all mad at Karine Jean-Pierre for saying she's' done with the party - I'm not mad at that because at this point, who cares what the party label is? 'Give me an effective fighter. If Jasmine Crockett is the most effective fighter, give me Jasmine Crockett,' Reid said, referring to the progressive Democrat Texas congresswoman. 'And I really don't care what you have to move around or who you have to disappoint in order to give me her. Just give me her because we need a leader.' A recent CNN poll indicated that left-leaning voters are not drawn to any particular politician to lead their party to victory in the next presidential election. The survey showed that liberals believe New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the person who best reflects the party's key principles. However, there wasn't a clear winner and many respondents had no opinion at all. The survey asked Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independent voters which politician best reflects the core values of the Democratic Party today. Ten percent of voters chose AOC while former Vice President Kamala Harris was a close second with nine percent of the votes. Sanders came in third with eight percent while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was placed fourth with six percent. Former President Barack Obama and Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett were tied for fifth with four percent. Obama has already served two terms as president and cannot run again. California Governor Gavin Newsom, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were all tied at two percent. Pelosi is 85 now and will be closing in on 89 by the time of the 2029 inauguration. Another fifteen Democrats including some lawmakers and governors each received one percent of the votes, while a whopping 26 percent of respondents had no opinion. Trump allies greeted the results of the poll as good news as the progressive Democratic congresswoman has long been accused of being too far left by moderates. Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro also shared the poll on his show, dubbing the results 'brutal' for Democrats. He claimed the New York Congresswoman is 'totally out of touch with most Americans.' The survey conducted March 6-9 included 1,206 respondents and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
The Guardian
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
A Biden official says Israel committed war crimes. Who else will come forward?
Politicians lie, and the people around them do too. When it's convenient – when the whole world is pulsing with revulsion, for example – they begin to reveal flavors of the truth. The Biden administration lied more than most, its public-facing members particularly. Its policy in Palestine was to embrace the Israelis in a 'bear hug' – to smother them with love. And there's thin cover for a genocide beyond lies. Now, Matthew Miller, the former state department spokesperson, is speaking out. It appears he has a new job – one that seems to require public-facing work, which may explain his decision to sit for a Sky News interview. You take your lumps and get it over with. Only I'm not sure it's over for Miller. In the interview, the former spokesman shared his personal view that it is 'without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes'. Asked if that had been true when he was employed by the government, he suggested that lying is just part of the job: 'You are a spokesperson for the president, the administration, and you espouse the positions of the administration. And when you're not in the administration, you can just give your own opinions.' Miller isn't alone. The Biden-era spokespeople for the genocide included the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and the deputy state department spokesperson Vedant Patel, as well as Jake Sullivan, a primary policymaker for an addled president, who represented the actual center of power along with John Kirby, a former admiral, and Antony Blinken, the former secretary of state. The group spent the period from October 2023 to January 2025 lying to an anguished public. They lied scornfully (Jean-Pierre) or gleefully (Miller), mawkishly (Kirby and Blinken), or blandly (Patel and Sullivan). And they did it every day, for 15 months. They told extravagant lies: Hamas beheaded 40 babies. They told savage lies about 'command and control' centers under al-Shifa hospital – they told us not to believe what we'd seen and to believe what they couldn't show us. They lied about Israeli investigations and Biden's humanity, his capacity for 'empathy'. Every lie they told was consequential, about infants in incubators; about the execution of Hind Rajab, a child; and about the way in which their pier was used to facilitate an Israeli massacre. They lied about the things that matter most. They lied to obscure a genocide, spinning whorls of confusion. In the Sky News interview, Miller twitched visibly just before he made the remarks about war crimes. Watching him, I wondered what had happened to his confidence, the brazen and unembarrassed way in which he skipped, lightly, through so much human carnage, whistling past Gaza's profusion of mass graves. And yet, despite himself, the former spokesperson continues to lie. He claims to not know if what the Biden administration has orchestrated in Gaza is a genocide, perhaps to shield himself from the worst of the moral reckoning. The tactic he's taken is a tired one, and the interview is self-indulgent. But at least Miller is braver than the others. In a video recorded at Harvard's Kennedy School, which is where both Brett McGurk, who also helped orchestrate the genocide, and Jake Sullivan have taken jobs, Sullivan meekly, dishonestly describes 'the choices the president made'. The choices the president made. It all brings to mind the former secretary of defense Robert McNamara's book, In Retrospect, a self-exculpatory account of his participation in the Vietnam war. Two million civilians were killed in that conflict, which achieved nothing, and was fought for nothing. And yet, McNamara waited 20 years to publish that account, long after many of his victims had died. So with that retrospective, we may encourage Sullivan, Miller, McGurk, Jean-Pierre, Blinken, Patel and all the others to come forward. If they do, they will be pilloried and mocked and verbally abused for what they've done. But they should do it anyway, because they owe their victims so much. Not least the truth. Ahmed Moor is a writer and fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Karine Jean-Pierre abandons Dems after years fiercely defending Biden policies
Former Biden-era White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre abruptly left the Democratic Party in her rear-view mirror, announcing in June that she had become an Independent after spending more than two years as President Joe Biden's top spokesperson and defender. "Our country has become obsessed with blind loyalty to a two-party democratic system. In her new book, timed for publication just one year after the 2024 election, Karine Jean-Pierre shares why Americans must begin to look beyond party lines and why she chose to embrace life as an Independent," a press release announcing Jean-Pierre's upcoming book, "Independent," stated while revealing that the former spox had ditched the Democratic Party. "Jean-Pierre didn't come to her decision to be an Independent lightly, she has served two American presidents, Obama and Biden. . . . She takes us through the three weeks that led to Biden's abandoning his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision," the press release continued. Fox News Digital took a look back at Jean-Pierre's history as press secretary – which spanned from May 13, 2022, until January 20, 2025 – including the most partisan stances and statements she made in defense of the administration as the immigration crisis spiraled to new highs, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the administration embraced transgender issues, and the White House's heated rhetoric aimed at President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election. Former Biden Officials Ridicule Karine Jean-pierre's Book As 'Bizarre Cash Grab' "We are not finishing a wall. We are cleaning up the mess that the prior administration made. We are trying to save lives. This is what the prior administration left behind that we are now cleaning up," Jean-Pierre declared from the White House briefing room's podium in July of 2022, as the Biden administration said it would not continue work on the Trump administration's border wall. Read On The Fox News App "A border wall is an ineffective use of taxpayer dollars, so it's ineffective," she added. Months later, as Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed U.S. officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border because of health concerns was set to expire, Jean-Pierre argued, "It would be wrong to think that the border is open. It is not open." Biden-era White House Reporters Express Disbelief On Karine Jean-pierre's Sudden Party Switch Critics at the time slammed the press secretary over the comment, calling the comment a "bold-faced lie" as migrants were seen coming across the border with little consequences. The Biden administration was in power when the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision effectively ending the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right in the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in June of 2022, with Jean-Pierre calling the ruling "extreme." "When the Supreme Court made that extreme decision on Dobbs, it really put a lot of families and women's lives at risk," she said during a press conference in July of 2022. Karine Jean-pierre Switches Affiliation To Independent, Releasing New Book About 'Broken' Biden White House The Biden White House frequently celebrated LGBTQ holidays during its four years, including fiercely defending transgender issues and policies that the Trump administration has since ended. "Tomorrow is Trans Visibility Day," Jean-Pierre said during a March 2023 press conference slamming Republicans who put forth legislation that aimed to keep biological boys out of girls' sports and end transgender surgeries for minors. "On a day that we should be lifting up our trans kids and our trans youth and making sure that they feel seen, we're seen more and more of these hateful, hateful bills." "We've been very clear about these anti-LGBTQ bills that we're seeing in state legislatures across the country, in particular these anti-trans bills, as they attack trans kids, as they attack trans parents. It is shameful, and it is unacceptable," she added. In the months leading up to Election Day, Trump faced two separate assassination attempts, including one in Butler, Pennsylvania, during a campaign rally in July that left him with an injury to the side of his head after a bullet whizzed towards him, and another in September when a man attempted to kill Trump while he played golf in Florida. "It's been only two days since somebody allegedly tried to kill Donald Trump again, and you're here at the podium in the White House briefing room calling him a threat," Fox News' Peter Doocy pressed during a news conference in September of 2024. "How many more assassination attempts on Donald Trump until the president and the vice president and you pick a different word to describe Trump other than 'threat'?" Then-Vice President Kamala Harris and Biden had both repeatedly claimed that "Democracy is on the ballot" last year amid Trump's re-election campaign. While the White House, Biden and Harris additionally described Trump as a "threat" to democracy, Fox Digital previously extensively reported. Biden Book Author Reveals How White House Staff Truly Felt About Karine Jean-pierre As Press Secretary Jean-Pierre exhaled in a sign of disapproval before answering: "Peter, if anything, from this administration, I actually completely disagree with the premise of your question, the question that you're asking. It is also incredibly dangerous in the way that you are asking it, because American people are watching. And to say that, when you start bringing political rhetoric. . . . That is not okay." "There are people watching at home who might miss the part where you say, let's lower the temperature. And there are mentally unstable people who are attempting to kill political candidates, attempting to kill Donald Trump. And they are still hearing this White House refer to him as a threat. Is there no concern?" Doocy continued in the press conference. "We're using examples. We're not just saying that just to say it," Jean-Pierre article source: Karine Jean-Pierre abandons Dems after years fiercely defending Biden policies
