Tag Archives: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

This Could Get Very Interesting

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In May, The Epoch Times reported that Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on April 5 suing President Joe Biden, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and other top administration officials for allegedly pressuring and colluding with social media giants with the aim of censoring and suppressing free speech. In July, The Epoch Times reported that Eric Schmitt, Missouri’s Republican attorney general, announced on social media on July 13 that Terry Doughty, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, had ruled in favor of the request for the discovery process. The case is going forward.

On August 1, The Epoch Times reported:

The subpoenas and discovery requests sent out as part of a lawsuit against the federal government are going to bring back reams of information, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry says.

Landry and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, both Republicans, sued the Biden administration in May, arguing the government colluded with Big tech companies to violate the constitutional rights of Americans.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, recently ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. Government officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci and companies including Facebook were served soon after.

“We’ve got a treasure trove of information that we think are going to come to us here shortly,” Landry said on EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders.”

“The subpoenas have gone out. They’re being served. I think Dr. Fauci got served, and he and other members of the president’s Cabinet, and they’re gonna have to send us communications between them and the platforms. And what we believe we’ll find is communications between them telling them what they should and shouldn’t put out or what they should suppress, and what they should amplify,” he added.

Government officials have said they have not acted improperly.

The article concludes:

Landry said that the government is violating citizens’ rights by pressuring companies to ban or take other punitive action against users. In a separate case, documents released this month showed U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials highlighting specific posts in messages to Twitter executives while complaining about alleged misinformation from those users. Whistleblower documents released by two U.S. senators in June, meanwhile, showed that U.S. officials had been in touch with Twitter over purported disinformation.

“I think what we found, and what the whistleblowers put out, was that the government was actually engaged, and the White House, in directly communicating with Big Tech on stories and information that they either wanted suppressed or put out,” Landry said.

It’s definitely time to get out the popcorn–this lawsuit is going to be very entertaining.

How Spin Works

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The shortage of baby formula is no joke for young parents. The fact that pallets of formula are showing up at the southern border for illegal immigrants is an indication of how much those in Washington care about the welfare of average Americans. However, one interesting aspect of this crisis is the media’s attempt to keep the blame away from the Biden administration. On Saturday, John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line Blog detailing the media spin.

The article reports:

You can tell the Biden administration has badly bungled the infant formula situation when the best their shills at the Associated Press can do is play the “Republicans pounce” card: “GOP’s new midterm attack: Blaming Biden for formula shortage.”

Republicans aiming to retake control of Congress have already sharpened a message centering around blaming Democrats for high inflation, expensive gas, migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and violent crime in some cities.

But GOP leaders landed on an issue this week that it hopes could prove even more potent: tying President Joe Biden to a shortage in baby formula.
***
Asked if his administration had responded as quickly as it should have, Biden said, ”If we’d been better mind readers, I guess we could’ve. But we moved as quickly as the problem became apparent.”

But the defense by the White House illustrates how finger-pointing at the Biden administration has already spread far and wide among Republicans in Washington, on television and on social media. It’s a new issue for the GOP to hammer at and a way to address families at a time when Democrats believe outrage over the U.S. Supreme Court possibly ending the right to an abortion could galvanize women and other key voters, and thwart or at least lessen a Republican wave in November.

The AP takes up the cudgels for Joe Biden, describing the now-famous photo and video of stacks of formula containers at an illegal immigrant facility at the border:

The AP has not independently verified the photo’s authenticity or when exactly it was captured. Some conservative pundits and news outlets have since spun even greater tall tales from the photo…

“Spun even greater tall tales.” Remember that this is not an opinion piece, it purports to be news reporting.

…with some claiming that they show Biden is shipping “thousands” of pallets of baby formula to the border while parents in the U.S. struggle to find formula.

So how many pallets are there? The AP has no idea.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that Border Patrol is “following the law” that requires the government to provide adequate food, specifically formula for children under the age of one, who are detained at the border.

GOP political consultants nonetheless call it a ready-made issue that resonates with voters.

Somehow I don’t think the spin is going to work on young American mothers trying to find formula for their babies.

Losing Civility Courtesy Of The White House

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On Thursday, The Daily Wire reported the following:

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that there was no “official U.S. Government position” on where protesters chose to gather, even if that meant they were publishing the home addresses of sitting Supreme Court justices.

After congratulating Psaki’s incoming replacement Karine Jean-Pierre on being named President Joe Biden’s next press secretary, Fox News’ Peter Doocy turned to the topic of planned protests over the recently leaked early opinion draft indicating that the Supreme Court could be poised to overturn landmark abortion cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

The article reports the following dialog:

“Not about yesterday, just about moving forward — these activists posted a map with the home addresses of the Supreme Court justices,” Doocy said. “Is that the kind of thing this president wants to help your side make their point?”

“Look, I think the president’s view is that there’s a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document,” Psaki replied, saying again that the White House supported peaceful protest.

“He doesn’t care if they’re protesting outside the Supreme Court or outside someone’s private residence?” Doocy asked.

“I don’t have an official U.S. Government position on where people protest,” Psaki replied. “I want it — we want it of course to be peaceful … I think we shouldn’t lose the point here, the reason people are protesting is because women across the country are worried about their fundamental rights that have been law for 50 years. Their rights to make choices about their own bodies and their own health care are at risk. That’s why people are protesting — they’re unhappy, they’re scared.”

When does protesting become harassment? How much violence is the political left willing to tolerate to move their agenda forward (think riots of the summer of 2020)? When the political left disrupted the Senate during the Kavanaugh hearings, how is that different from January 6th? Is anyone protecting the rights of American citizens simply trying to do their jobs?

Ignoring The Rules When Convenient

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The Biden Family crime syndicate continues to move forward with no concern about breaking rules that they previously applied to other people in power. On Thursday, The Patriot Journal posted an article about the glaring double standard upheld by the Biden family.

The article quotes Fox News:

From Fox News:

President Biden’s younger sister will kick off her book tour Thursday night in Washington, D.C., ahead of the release of her memoir next week, which could create a headache for the White House as she continues to cash in on her brother’s political career…

The upcoming book tour and expected media blitz of Owens’ memoir about growing up as a Biden comes a little over a year after the transition team’s lawyers told Vice President-elect Harris’s niece she could no longer produce clothing or write any new books with Harris’s name or likeness, the Los Angeles Times reported in early 2021.

Well, not so fast.

The article at The Patriot Journal notes:

How interesting. Last year, the White House forced Kamala Harris’ niece to stop using her likeness to sell clothing. She was even forbidden from writing new books.

Yet that same standard has not been applied to the Biden family. Joe’s son, Hunter Biden, tried to make a splash with a memoir of his own. But it flopped.

Now, Biden’s own sister, Valerie Biden Owens, is literally using his name and likeness to sell her book. The memoir is titled, “Growing Up Biden: A memoir.” On the cover is a picture of herself and Joe.

The article concludes:

This comes after Jen Psaki claimed the Biden White House has the “highest” ethics standards. Yet they did nothing when Biden’s sister released this book.

How can anyone believe this book would be published if Biden wasn’t president? Why would anyone care about Valerie Biden’s life—if she wasn’t the sister of a vice president and “president”?

It’s hard to believe she is not doing this just to cash in on Biden’s name. Yet the White House is doing nothing.

And the Biden family crime syndicate rolls on.

When Is A Law Not A Law?

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The Epoch Times posted an article today about the federal vaccine mandates.

The article reports:

Several Republican attorneys general have said that President Joe Biden’s federal mandate for COVID-19 vaccinations hasn’t yet come into effect for private businesses, adding that if it is ordered, they will file lawsuits against it.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, a Republican, noted that the White House only last week submitted the text of its emergency rule regarding vaccinations to the Office of Management and Budget, meaning it hasn’t gone into effect.

But, Knudsen noted that “no such rule or regulation is currently in effect,” adding (pdf) that there has been a “great deal of confusion” over Biden’s announcement last month.

“Further, my office is preparing to immediately challenge and enjoin this federal overreach on a variety of grounds when the Biden administration issues its announced rule,” he said.

On Sept. 9, Biden announced that he would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to mandate that all private businesses with 100 or more employees force their workers to get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. Details about the rule, including fines, have not been released, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki couldn’t answer questions earlier this month about a timeframe on when it would be unveiled.

There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that gives the federal government the power to order people to take medicine they do not want to take. It may be possible for some states or local entities to find that power under public health laws, but there is no federal precedent for such a requirement.

The article concludes with an interesting statement about the double standard being applied to Americans and those crossing the border illegally:

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, already filed a lawsuit against Biden’s vaccine requirement, arguing that it would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. The mandate would treat American workers differently than illegal immigrants who are crossing into the United States from Mexico, arguing that illegal aliens are able to decline the vaccine.

But last week, Biden said that his private-sector mandate will take effect “soon” and will address the “unacceptably high number” of people who have not taken the vaccine.

“The Labor Department is going to soon be issuing an emergency rule for companies with 100 or more employees to implement vaccination requirements,” Biden said on Oct. 14, referring to the mandate.

Earlier this month, a Department of Labor spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that OSHA has been working “expeditiously” to develop the rule, which it described as an “emergency temporary standard.”

The Epoch Times contacted the Department of Labor on Sunday for additional comment.

If the government moves at its typical speed, the word “expeditiously” may mean it will be done by 2024. Meanwhile, we need Attorneys General who will protect our rights. It has never been more obvious that your vote for local and state officials is as important as your vote for President.

Please Teach This Lady Economics!

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Yesterday The Daily Wire posted an article that illustrates the lack of knowledge of economics in our country’s current leadership class.

The article reports:

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed during Monday’s press briefing that it would be “unfair and absurd” for companies to raise costs on consumers in response to the Biden administration raising the corporate tax rate.

The article notes that Forbes has a more realistic approach:

Forbes noted in a report that it was “important to remember that corporate taxes must be paid by people,” the report said. “Any corporate tax increase will be paid by either shareholders/owners, employees in the form of lower wages, or customers in the form of higher prices.”

The goal of running a business is to provide a service (or product) and to make a profit. When you are no longer making a profit, chances are that you will close the business. A profit is made when income is higher than expenses. Taxes are an expense. In order to keep the profit at a consistent level when taxes are raised, something has to compensate for that increase–the cost of the product has to increase, the wages paid to employees has to decrease, or the profit has to decrease. Again, making a profit is part of the goal of running a business. If an acceptable profit is not made, the business will close. I think Ms. Psaki needs to take an economics course.

Lying With A Straight Face

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Yesterday Hot Air posted an article with the following headline, “Psaki: Migrants at the border don’t need to show proof of vaccination because they don’t intend to stay for long.” Wow. I guess that’s why the Democrats are fighting so hard to pass amnesty for illegal aliens. Wait, what?

The article reports:

What Psaki means is that migrants who surrender to the Border Patrol and apply for asylum can, in some circumstances, be summarily expelled under the CDC’s Title 42 pandemic authority. You file your asylum application and then you’re either repatriated or told to get comfortable in Mexico while you await a ruling. Ideally.

But there are two wrinkles. First, not everyone is turned away.

Maybe those families released into the U.S. will show up for their asylum hearing or maybe they’ll disappear and become illegal immigrants. In which case, for all intents and purposes, they are here forever.

Second, whether the Biden administration will be able to summarily expel families for much longer is in doubt thanks to a federal judge.

The article notes:

In a 58-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan found that the Title 42 policy does not authorize the expulsion of migrants — and, in turn, does not allow for those removed to be denied the opportunity to seek asylum in the U.S. The judge’s order will go into effect in 14 days…

Sullivan’s order applies only to families, meaning the Biden administration can continue to expel single adults arriving at the U.S. southern border. Unaccompanied children have been exempt from being expelled using Title 42…

In recent months, Mexico has been increasingly resistant to accepting families expelled from the U.S. under Title 42, resulting in a majority of families entering the U.S. to be permitted to remain in the country.

This is somewhat illogical:

Families are coming across the border without proof of vaccination and being released into the United States to remain for months and potentially years. Meanwhile, until literally this morning, fully vaccinated tourists with proof of immunity were barred from entering the U.S. even just to enjoy a vacation of a few days.

The people who really do intend to stay only briefly are asked to prove they’re no threat to the population while the people who hope to stay permanently aren’t. Go figure.

The article concludes with the following statement and a video of a comment by Jen Psaki:

There’s another class angle. Tourists who fly in from abroad for vacation to spread their money around are apt to patronize middle- or upper-class establishments, where they’ll mix with professionals. Dirt-poor migrants, on the other hand, are likely to spend most of their time in downscale American communities. The governing class doesn’t care much if the poors are exposed to COVID but they don’t want it in their own spaces. Which probably also explains why most major businesses are okay with not requiring customers to prove they’re vaccinated but are more eager to have their own staffers get their shots. The low-paid cashier or sales assistant can take their chances with infected shoppers out front, but executives don’t want any ‘rona around them back in the office.

I’ll leave you with another soundbite from Psaki at today’s briefing, in which she deflects Biden’s role in the horrendous drone strike that killed seven Afghan children in part by noting that he knows how painful personal loss can be. Is there no uncomfortable moment politically that the White House won’t try to use Beau Biden’s tragic death to extricate themselves from?

I am beginning to wonder if America will survive the Biden administration.

Prepare To Lose Your Freedom

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The Epoch Times posted an article yesterday about President Biden’s plan to deal the with the coronavirus epidemic.

The article reports:

Ahead of President Joe Biden’s announcement Thursday about new COVID-19 measures, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that there may be new measures that will be imposed on unvaccinated people.

“There are six steps the president’s announcing, there will be new components,” Psaki told reporters on Wednesday. “Some of that will be related to access to testing, some will be related to mandates, some will be related to how we ensure kids will be protected in schools.”

When asked about how the new steps would impact Americans’ lives, Psaki said that “it depends on if you’re vaccinated or not.”

Psaki provided few details on what mandates could be imposed on unvaccinated Americans. On Tuesday, she told reporters on Air Force One that the federal government lacks the authority to mandate vaccines for everyone.

The article notes:

Data released daily by the CDC’s COVID-19 tracker suggests that the United States’ new cases and deaths may have hit a plateau or is on the decline. The seven day-average for cases as of Tuesday was 140,000 and deaths were 1,022, respectively, while as of Sept. 1, the seven-day average for cases was 156,000 and deaths were 1,141, respectively.

The president’s speech on Thursday could make reference to a recent announcement from the heads of several federal health agencies that third doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, or booster shots, would be provided around Sept. 20. However, the Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve the booster doses.

Already, Biden required all federal employees and contractors to get the COVID-19 vaccine or adhere to strict testing and social distancing protocols. He also ordered nursing homes to require their staff to get the vaccine to continue getting Medicare and Medicaid funding.

What seems to be coming down the pike is not Constitutional. Lawsuits need to be filed quickly. Hopefully we have enough freedom-loving judges in our justice system to put an end to this nonsense.

Ben Franklin once stated, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” We are there.

A Dictator Or A President?

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Yesterday The U.K. Daily Mail reported that President Biden has requested the resignation of 18 Trump-appointed officials who are currently on military academy advisory boards. This is highly unusual as these positions are supposed to be apolitical and have specified terms.

The article reports:

Multiple people appointed to military academy advisory boards by Donald Trump are refusing to resign after the Biden Administration told them to quit or they’d be fired. 

Sean Spicer is one of those axed, and decried the other 17 terminations on his Newsmax show Wednesday.

Spicer hit out as fellow appointee Kellyanne Conway wrote in a tweet that Biden should resign instead, and a third board member Russ Vought –  former director of the Office of Management and Budget – asserted that he would carry out his three-year term. 

The article notes:

He (Sean Spicer) continued, ‘To put this in context. The Biden administration came into office and immediately ordered a stand down and a review for all of the military academies for some unknown still unknown reason. For almost a year we’ve been unable to meet, and then we get this email today. You have to ask why why would they want zero oversight during a challenging period where the academies are dealing with COVID. They’re navigating funding issues.’ 

Spicer then spoke directly to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who named him when addressing the resignations and said the appointees should be qualified and ‘aligned with the values’ of the Biden administration. 

Spicer, a US Navy veteran, responded by saying, ‘When you wear the uniform, you serve the commander-in-chief. We take an oath as officers to the Constitution, not to a party.’

He added, ‘Each of us chooses how we’re going to serve this country. I won’t ever question how anyone chooses to do that. I won’t question how you choose to do that, Jen. But don’t you dare ever minimize or question my service to this nation. You got it?’ 

Note Jen Psaki’s statement, “…appointees should be qualified and ‘aligned with the values’ of the Biden administration. ” Exactly what are the values of the Biden administration?

Obviously lawsuits will be filed, and will will see if the court system will uphold the non-partisan character of the boards involved.

Isn’t this the President that promised to unify the country?

 

I Guess The Truth Is Relative

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On Monday The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about a recent statement made by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

The article reports:

On Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said: “Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 113.6 million full-time wage and salary workers were $990 in the second quarter of 2021 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was 1.2 percent lower than a year earlier.” (Data)

On Monday the White House says: “Wages are up.”

The article includes a video of Jen Psaki making that statement.

The article notes:

The reality is when you combine 1.2% decrease in earned wages with a 5.4% inflation rate, real wages are down 7.6% from last year. {Go Deep}

Does the Biden administration really believe that Americans will not notice that their spending power is down considerably from last year? I know that politicians tend to exaggerate, but this is unbelievable. How many times was President Trump accused of lying with no examples given? Here you have a blatant lie, and I doubt that the media will report it. Hopefully American voters are paying attention to what the Biden administration is doing to their economic well being.

This Is Not Appropriate In A Constitutional Republic

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Yesterday The Conservative Treehouse posted an article about a recent statement by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

The article reports:

Imagine the apoplexy in media if President Trump’s White House was flagging content on Facebook for removal.  That’s exactly what White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki admitted today: “We are flagging problematic posts for Facebook“…

Yup, the Biden regime is monitoring social media from the White House and identifying content they do not like.  Then, they flag that content and send it to Facebook, who then take action to remove it. 

The article includes a video of Ms. Psaki making that statement.

The article concludes:

On the upside – this is a direct admission the U.S. government is the determining voice on speech.  That admission now makes this a FIRST AMENDMENT issue.

Previously the Democrats, leftists, media allies and the Biden administration all said Big Tech censorship, the banning of conservative voices/opinions, was a matter of private businesses making decisions on their own without government influence and therefore no ‘First Amendment’ issues are in place.  This admission from the White House today is exactly the opposite.   Let the lawsuits commence.

…Disinformation or Misinformation doesn’t exist – there is just information that you accept, and information that you do not accept.

You were not born with the requirement to believe everything you are told. Rather, you were born with a brain that allows you to process the information you receive.

The Biden Administration is actively monitoring social media while the Trump Administration was banned from social media… The world has gone nuts.

Prepare the lawyers!

 

The Title Sounds So Innocent

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The Biden administration has declared war on domestic terror. That sounds good. We really don’t need domestic terrorists roaming around the country. But what do they mean? The Federalist posted an article today that might provide some insight into the coming war on domestic terror.

The article reports:

The Biden administration is planning to use the full force of the federal government in pursuit of a new war. Its target? American citizens.

This countering “domestic violent extremism” effort, declared in the wake of the latest Capitol riot, represents the real-world counterpart to the corporate media rhetoric about the need to “deprogram,” “de-ba’athify,” and drone the Deplorables.

If this is a dangerous political witch hunt masquerading as a national security imperative, it should disturb every American. Half of the country could potentially be ensnared as would-be if not actual terrorists.

In a little-discussed Jan. 22 press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki asserted “[the] assault on the Capitol … underscored what we have long known: The rise of domestic violent extremism is a serious and growing national security threat.” Consequently, the administration plans a three-part response:

    • Developing a comprehensive threat assessment, coordinated with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security on domestic violent extremism.
    • Building “National Security Council capability to focus on countering domestic violent extremism,” including conducting “a policy review effort to determine how the government can share information better about this threat, support efforts to prevent radicalization, disrupt violent extremist networks, and more.”
    • Coordinating “relevant parts of the federal government to enhance and accelerate efforts to address DVE … an NSC-convened process will focus on addressing evolving threats, radicalization, the role of social media, opportunities to improve information sharing, operational responses, and more.”

In short, the Biden administration plans to turn the institutions and tools used to pursue foreign adversaries on “wrong-thinking” Americans. There are several reasons this is so troubling.

The article concludes:

It’s also worth noting who is leading this effort, and his political and policy predilections. As Psaki revealed, Joshua Geltzer will be responsible for the “scoping effort.”

During a September 2019 hearing before the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittees on National Security and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the former Obama administration National Security Council official and prolific Trump critic called for adopting a “transnational” approach to countering “violent white supremacy.” This included increased terror organization designations, use of the intelligence capabilities of the “international terrorism”-focused National Counterterrorism Center, and tech companies “policing their platforms to remove not just incitement to violence, but also, the ideological foundations that spawn such violence.”

Geltzer was careful to caveat that creating a “domestic analog to the foreign terrorist organization designation regime” might be unconstitutional and that efforts to counter violent white supremacy “must not be used as an excuse for interfering with the lawful expression of political advocacy.” But it is hard to square these seemingly conflicting statements.

In this charged and hysterical political environment, we should be all the more so concerned about the threats to our liberties, particularly of a national security regime with vastly expanded domestic powers. The first role of government is to protect our lives and liberties. The heavy burden is on our leaders to justify infringements on the latter in service of the former.

Stay tuned.