White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is giving one of the biggest press briefings of his tenure, as the Obama administration struggles to answer questions about Benghazi, the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups, and the Department of Justice's seizure of AP phone records.
Faced with repeated questions about the White House's knowledge of the DOJ scandals, Carney reiterated previous claims that West Wing was not aware of the agency's decision to subpoena the AP.
He said that Obama found out about the DOJ seizure of the AP's records from news reports yesterday, but that it would be "wholly inappropriate" for the White House to comment on an "ongoing investigation."
And while he added — repeatedly — that the President supports an "unfettered" press, he refused to comment specifically on Obama's reaction to the news that the DOJ had secretly wiretapped AP reporters.
On the IRS targeting, Carney also declined to comment on the investigation, saying that the White House was waiting for the results of a report from the agency's Inspector General. Asked if he could "categorically" say that no one at the White House knew anything about the IRS targeting, Carney said "yes," although he said that the West Wing was informed last month of the investigation into the IRS officials in Cincinnati, who have been accused of targeting Tea Party groups.
Carney added that speculation that Obama would have wanted the IRS to target conservative groups "preposterous."
Later, Carney was asked if there was "siege mentality" in the West Wing as a result of the growing number of scandals, he responded "absolutely not."
"I understand the inclination to bunch things together, but you have to separate these issues" Carney said.