Reporter Presses Jen Psaki on Putin ‘War Crimes’: Why Has Biden ‘Been Reluctant’ to Label Them As Such?

Wall Street Journal White House correspondent Sabrina Siddiqui pressed White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki about President Joe Biden’s reluctance, thus far, to characterize Russia’s actions as “war crimes.”

President Biden  spoke to reporters on the White House lawn before boarding Marine One on Wednesday, and was asked “Do you believe Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine?”

“We are following it very closely. It’s early to say that,” Biden replied, but when asked “Mr. President, do you believe Russia is intentionally targeting civilian areas?”, Biden was definitive.

“It’s clear they are,” Biden said.

At a White House press briefing Thursday afternoon, Ms. Siddiqui referenced those comments, and asked why the president stopped short of applying the “war crime” label.

MS. SIDDIQUI: And President Zelenskyy has said Russia’s actions clearly constitute a war crime. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said that Russia’s targeting of civilians fully qualifies as a war crime. The President wouldn’t go that far when he was asked yesterday. Why has he been reluctant to label Russia’s actions a war crime?

MS. PSAKI: Well, there is a process and we have stood up a process internally — an internal team — to assess and look at and evaluate evidence of what we’re seeing happen on the ground.

That is a standard part of our process in the U.S. government. I would note that we work very closely with our international partners, and we will provide any information that we surface through that process.

You know, I think we’ve seen on the ground that — that a — reports of a range of barbaric tactics, reports of targeting civilians. That’s all factors that we look at.

And again, that interag- — that process that has been stood up would provide any information to the ICC or any other international body taking a look at this.

On Friday morning, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv tweeted that Russia’s shelling of a nuclear plant is a “war crime.”

“It is a war crime to attack a nuclear power plant. Putin’s shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear plant takes his reign of terror one step further. #TheHague #Zaporizhzhia #StandwithUkraine,” the embassy wrote.

It is a war crime to attack a nuclear power plant. Putin’s shelling of Europe’s largest nuclear plant takes his reign of terror one step further. #TheHague #Zaporizhzhia #StandwithUkraine

— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) March 4, 2022

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