WASHINGTON – In an unusual moment for a White House spokesman, John Kirby of the National Security Council repeatedly apologized on Tuesday for falsely saying that the US government had given Iraq advance notice of Friday’s airstrikes against Iran-backed groups.
Washington gave no advance warning to Baghdad, although Kirby said otherwise on a press conference shortly after the attack in retaliation for the Jan. 28 killing of three US soldiers in Jordan.
“I deeply apologize for the mistake and I regret any confusion it may have caused,” Kirby told reporters at the start of the virtual banter that largely focused on other topics, such as US aid to Ukraine.
“It is based on the information we had, or that witnesses gave me, in the early hours after the strike. It turned out that the information was incorrect and I certainly regret the mistake,” Kirby continued.
“And I hope you will understand there is no malice behind it — no deliberate intent to deceive or wrong. I take that responsibility very, very seriously. And I deeply regret the mistake I made.”
Pressed Wednesday about why the Biden administration believed the renaming would deter Houthi attacks when airstrikes would not, Kirby said the move was just one piece of the pressure puzzle. Yuri Gripas / Pool via CNP / SplashNews.com
Kirby then ended the uproar by saying: “I want to apologize at the top.
“I made a mistake there on Friday night,” he added. “I really regret it and I promise you that I will do a better job in the future and work harder not to put bad information out there. Again, I’m sorry.”
Kirby, who regularly co-hosts White House briefings, is widely considered a potential future presidential press secretary and is known among reporters for his colorful off-camera commentary.
The apology was a departure from the Biden White House’s response to previous high-profile blunders, including the president asking, “Where’s Jackie?” while he was looking for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) at a public event in 2022.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to admit Biden made a mistake and insisted Walorski was only “top of mind” in response to several questions at a press briefing.
Kirby apologized for falsely saying that the US government had given Iraq advance notice of the airstrikes. AP
Press secretaries of both parties often scrutinize when pressed information that appears to be false — including President Donald Trump’s first press secretary, Sean Spicer, who defended his boss’s claim in 2017 that he had the largest inauguration audience in history when pictures clearly showed otherwise. Spicer later expressed regret for doing so.
Jean-Pierre, meanwhile, faced questioning last year from reporters over the discovery of classified documents allegedly misused in Biden’s vice presidential office and Wilmington, Del., home.
At a January 2023 briefing, NPR reporter Tamara Keith pressed Jean-Pierre about the omission of information about records found in Delaware from earlier White House statements.
“Will you admit that earlier this week the White House shared incomplete information?” asked Keith, who was then president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.
“I think when we all heard Merrick Garland say that these documents in the residence were found on December 20th and they were notified, that was a bit of a surprise to all of us based on the statements that you and the president and the attorney’s office have had. made.”
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to admit President Biden made a mistake and insisted Walorski was only “top of mind” in response to several questions at a press briefing. AP
Jean-Pierre defended the initial incomplete statement saying “the search continues” at the time.
“When you talk about ‘we being transparent,’ who is ‘we’ and what is the definition of transparent in this case?” asked CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe.
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“What is transparent,” Jean-Pierre said, is that “the White House counsel has presented in detail” the issue – despite the fact that the disclosure only acknowledged the Penn Center records Biden found on November 2 and not the home garage. found on 20 Dec.
“There are no transparency limits,” Jean-Pierre claimed as O’Keefe continued to press, then added that he was “limited in what I can say” because of the Justice Department investigation.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
