Would Biden Sit for a Special Counsel Interview? Jean-Pierre: 'That Is a Hypothetical' (January 13, 2023)

A day after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate the classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s Delaware home and a Washington office [2], a reporter asked the obvious question. “Does the White House and does the President agree to fully cooperate with the special counsel investigation?” [1]

“We have said that we are going to continue to — continue to fully cop- — cooperate,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered. “We have been” [1].

The reporter followed up: “And so, by that reasoning, would the President agree to sit for an on-the-record, in-person interview with the special counsel” [1]? “I’m not going to get into hypotheticals, because that is a hypothetical,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

Nine months later, Biden sat for that interview. The special counsel’s report said that before a jury, Biden would likely come across the way he had in the interview: “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” [3].

The video above shows the exchange from the Jan. 13, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Fully Cop- — Cooperate”

Jean-Pierre stuck to the same line. “The President’s lawyers and team has been fully cooperating with the Department of Justice. And we’re certainly — they’re certainly going to do that with the special counsel,” she said [1].

After the interview question, she said it again: “What I will say is: We have addressed this multiple times at length, and we are going to continue — the President’s team is going to continue to fully cooperate with the Department of Justice” [1].

”I Don’t Have a Magic Wand Here”

“The President has said he hopes to speak about this soon. When can people expect to hear from him about this?” a reporter asked [1].

“Don’t have — again, that’s a — that is — that is something that I can’t — I don’t have a magic wand here. I don’t know when that’s going to happen,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”We Were Not Given a Heads Up”

A reporter asked how Biden learned of the special counsel. “When was the President informed about the Attorney General’s decision to appoint a special counsel? How and by whom?” [1]

“I can tell you that we were not given a heads up,” Jean-Pierre said. “We did not know that that was — the announcement was going to come yesterday until after it happened” [1].

The reporter then noted that Bob Bauer was “indeed the President’s personal attorney handling some of this” and asked why questions were going to the White House Counsel instead. “I would ask them that question. And anything related to the review, I would refer you to the Department of Justice,” she said [1].

”Is It Ever Okay?”

Another reporter asked about the rules: “is it ever okay for classified documents to be mixed with personal effects?” [1]

“We take this very seriously. The President takes a classified information, classified documents very seriously,” Jean-Pierre answered. “I’m going to refer you to Department of Justice” [1].

“Just to be clear: You’re confident he followed whatever protocol was in place?” the reporter asked. “Again, this is something that he takes very seriously — the President — when it comes to classified documents, when it comes to classified information. I’m not going to go into any specifics from here,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

Asked whether White House officials had been interviewed by the special counsel or the Justice Department, she said: “I would refer you to the Department of Justice. I would also refer you to my colleagues over at the White House Counsel. I’m not going to get into any specifics from here” [1].

”We Have Been Transparent”

A reporter asked whether the White House had “an obligation to share not just with the National Archives, but with the American people when the existence of classified information is found in a private location” [1].

“Again, there is a process in this,” Jean-Pierre said. “We have been transparent in the last couple of days in — remember there’s an ongoing process, and we have spoken when it is appropriate” [1].

The reporter pushed back that the White House had answered only after the press broke the news. “Because it’s an ongoing process,” she said [1].

”Equity Is at the Center”

The briefing also featured Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor serving as Biden’s senior adviser for public engagement. A reporter Jean-Pierre called Kristen asked her about the jobs numbers. “When you look at the economy, you saw the unemployment rate come down last month, and yet, it went up for Black women, for Latinos. What is your reaction?” [1]

“Well, equity is at the center of what we do from this administration. And so, that’s extremely important. You know, it’s been said that when America catches a cold, that Black America catches the flu,” Bottoms said. “The great news is that the economy is doing much better under this administration.” [1]

“We’ve Not Received Any Questions”

Bottoms was also asked about the documents. “Can I ask you if — as you’re — in your role in community outreach, whether the issue of the documents is a particular setback for the President at a moment when other things seem to be going pretty well?” a reporter asked. “Like, are you finding that you’re getting a lot of response from the public on that?” [1]

“In my role as Senior Advisor for Public Engagement, we’ve not gotten any information on that in terms of from the public. We’ve not received any questions,” Bottoms said [1].

Asked whether the discoveries would bear on Biden’s decision to run again, she said: “I’ll refer those questions to the President. He can speak for himself on that.” [1]

By the Numbers

23: times Jean-Pierre said “refer you” in the briefing, by HYGO News’ count of the transcript [1].
1 day: from the special counsel’s appointment to the briefing [2][1].
9 months: from “that is a hypothetical” to Biden’s interview [1][3].
5 hours-plus: how long the interview lasted, per the special counsel [3].
2 days: Oct. 8 and 9, 2023, when the interview took place, per the report’s footnotes [3].

What Happened Next

He sat for it. Biden “participated in an interview with our office that lasted more than five hours,” the special counsel’s report said [3].

What the special counsel saw. “He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended,” and “forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began,” the report said. On the second day, it quoted Biden asking: “in 2009, am I still Vice President?” [3]

“He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died,” the report said [3].

No charges. “We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,” the report said [3].

For the fight over the interview recordings, see HYGO News’ page on Stefanik and the tapes, and for the audio’s release, the page on Biden’s “state secrets” joke.