Jen Psaki Defends Those Who Believed Jussie Smollett at First — Including Trump — To Fox News Reporter

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended prominent people — including then-President Donald Trump — who initially believed Jussie Smollett’s report of a hate crime, which turned out to be false.

At Friday’s daily briefing, Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich asked Psaki about the case, on the heels of Smollett’s conviction on five counts for staging a hate crime.

“Both the President and Vice President tweeted at the time of the attack,” Heinrich said, and read those tweets:  “The President tweeted: ‘What happened to @JussieSmollett must never be tolerated in this country.’  ‘We are with you, Jussie.’  The Vice President called it an ‘attempted modern-day lynching.’”

“Since the guilty verdict, are there any lessons learned here on rushing to judgment when a crime is alleged?” Heinrich asked.

Psaki replied that “I think there are lessons learned perhaps for everybody who commented at the time, including former President Trump,” referencing remarks Trump made during a press gaggle at the time.

“That I can tell you is horrible,” Trump told April Ryan when she asked if he’d seen reports of the attack. “I’ve seen it. Last night. I think that’s horrible. It doesn’t get worse, as far as I’m concerned.”

Psaki condemned the false accusation that Smollett made, but also extolled the importance of taking hate crimes reports seriously, and placed the onus for the false report on Smollett:

I would say that we respect the jury’s decision. Lying to the police, particularly about something as heinous as a hate crime, is shameful. Instances of that need to be investigated fully. And those found guilty need to be punished. And false accusations divert valuable police resources away from important investigations. They make it harder for real victims to come forward and be believed.

You know, if you look back at the time — it’s also true and important to note that accusations of hate crimes should be taken seriously, and they need to be fully investigated.

But that’s where everybody was looking at it at the time. But certainly knowing what we know now, it’s important to also note the danger of lying to police and lying about hate crimes and the fact that it diverts important resources.

Watch above via C-Span.