Biden officials say they ‘welcome tough questions’ after bristling at media scrutiny on US intel

Biden administration officials are backpedaling after facing sharp criticism for suggesting American reporters seeking more clarity on U.S. intelligence claims were siding with foreign adversaries.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki took heat on Thursday after a reporter asked if more evidence would be forthcoming about the U.S. raid that killed the leader of ISIS in Syria, given some Americans may be skeptical of U.S. government reporting on the issue. Psaki asked the reporter if they were suggesting ISIS was providing accurate information before adding the Pentagon would undergo a fuller review of the raid.

Psaki was asked at a Friday press briefing to further elaborate on her implication that those skeptical of U.S. reporting would believe the ISIS version of events. 

“We welcome tough questions and good-faith scrutiny, otherwise I wouldn’t have come out here almost 180 times and engaged with all of you and your tough questions and good-faith scrutiny,” Psaki said. “We are less than 48 hours from the end of the mission, so the Department of Defense is still conducting after action assessments. That’s a natural part of the process that occurs.”

Psaki noted that Thursday’s raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi involved military operators on the ground conducting the mission, which means there were initial reports from service members on the scene as opposed to gathering intel after a drone strike.

“But of course we respect and value the role of the press, otherwise, again, I wouldn’t be out here with all of you every day, and welcome the scrutiny, welcome the questioning, and as I said yesterday, of course we will do everything we can to provide as many details as possible,” she said.

At the State Department, spokesman Ned Price pushed back when a reporter asked for more specifics on claims from U.S. officials that Russia was preparing a pretext to justify an invasion of Ukraine. 

“If you doubt the credibility of the U.S. government, of the British government, of other governments, and want to find solace in information that the Russians are putting out, that is for you to do,” Price said at a Thursday briefing.

Price later tweeted he’d reached out to the Associated Press reporter who raised the question.

“Clearly, he’s no one’s dupe, and I’d never want to suggest otherwise,” Price tweeted.

The initial comments from Psaki and Price drew swift backlash, particularly from those in the media who noted the U.S. government has not always been fully forthcoming or provided accurate information in the immediate aftermath of military missions.

After officials deemed a drone strike in Afghanistan in August “righteous” and said it thwarted a terrorist plot, a fuller government assessment determined the strike was a “tragic mistake” that killed 10 civilians, including children.