CNN’s Brianna Keilar Asks Biden Spox Jean-Pierre ‘What’s the White House’s Role’ in ‘Tamping Down’ Violence Over Trump Raid
CNN anchor Brianna Keilar asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre “what’s the White House’s role in tamping down” violence and fury following the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-lago resort home.
On Friday morning’s edition of CNN’s New Day, Keilar began her interview with Jean-Pierre by asking about Attorney General Merrick Garland‘s Thursday press conference, at which he said he would seek to unseal part of the search warrant for the search and release it, as well as the property inventory for the raid.
Jean-Pierre demurred, saying that “it would be inappropriate for me to comment on it. And that is something for the Department of Justice to speak to, as they did yesterday, yesterday afternoon. So I will leave it to them.”
Keilar then showed a clip of CNN’s Andrew McCabe, a former FBI leader, saying “both sides” have a responsibility to tamp down the sort of fury that may have led to the attack on an FBI office in Cincinnati. Keilar then asked Jean-Pierre to explain what the White House’s role would be in the down-tamping:
BRIANNA KEILAR: I do want to ask you about some worries that people in the law enforcement community, FBI, DOJ, have about how rhetoric could lead to violence. We saw an armed man who ended up being killed trying to breach the FBI office in Cincinnati yesterday. This is what Andy McCabe said of what he is expecting and what he needs, what the community needs from Democrats and Republicans.
ANDREW MCCABE: (VIDEO CLIP) My question for our political leadership, of both sides, is where are you? It’s bad enough that their own rhetoric is pushing some of these extremists in that direction. They should be out actively trying to tamp this down.
BRIANNA KEILAR: Let’s be clear, a lot of the weaponization of the DOJ and questions about that, that’s coming from Republicans. But he’s saying there’s a role for Democrats in tamping this down. What is the White House’s role in that?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Our role is, and we have done this when it comes to violence, is condemning it. We are going to, condemning any type of violence for any reason. It is, it is something that should not be happening. I think people have the right, and we think people have the right, to peacefully protest. But when it comes to violence of any kind, we will condemn it, including when it’s towards law enforcement. And so that’s what we’re going to continue to do, is condemn that. The president has done that many times when we’ve seen violence just across the country.
Watch above via CNN.
