Posted on 10/24/2013 10:25:17 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The White House on Thursday said it was behind a miscommunication that caused Senate Democrats to think a Republican lawmaker told President Obama at a private budget meeting, “I can’t even stand to look at you.”
For a second day in a row, the White House said the incident did not happen, but Thursday it also apologized for the confusion and accepted blame.
“While the quote attributed to a Republican lawmaker in the House GOP meeting with the president is not accurate, there was a miscommunication when the White House read out that meeting to Senate Democrats, and we regret the misunderstanding,” a White House official said.
Washington had been trying to figure out who made the remark since earlier this week, when Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) first mentioned the comment in a post on his Facebook site.
White House press secretary Jay Carney on Wednesday said the incident did not happen, prompting Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office to ask for an apology and a retraction from Durbin.
Instead, Durbin stood by his story, and The Huffington Post published a separate piece that said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) discussed the incident at a meeting of Senate Democrats, saying it had been conveyed to him by a White House aide.
After Democratic Senate officials began whispering to reporters that it was Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) who made the comment to Obama, reporters confronted Sessions off the floor on Wednesday night.
Sessions, the chairman of the House Rules Committee, adamantly denied the allegation and referred to Carney shooting down Durbin's Facebook post during a briefing.
The meeting in question occurred during the height of the government shutdown when 20 House Republicans went to the White House to urge Obama to engage in negotiations.
Sessions confirmed he had spoken up at the meeting when the president pressed Republicans for “the fourth time” to tell him what it would take to end the shutdown.
He said he reminded Obama that leaders need to constantly try to find consensus.
“I told the president that I believed there needed to be a reevaluation of a leadership role toward that end,” Sessions said. “It’s as simple as that.”
“The president of the United States said it was the fourth time [he had] asked about feedback about whether we’re headed down the right pathway or not, in essence, how are you going to handle this thing,” Sessions added. “I was just providing feedback that leaders lead.”
Pressed by reporters if he might have said something like the quote referenced by Durbin, he replied, “There is no way.”
Growing agitated, he even suggested the White House had taped the meeting without Republicans' knowledge or consent. Still, he denied insulting the president.
"It is an absolute denial, and I already told you I didn’t say it," Sessions said before walking away.
Liars the lot of them!
Probably being covered up now by the Obamatons because Sessions didn’t say it, but he was thinking it, and Obama had the NSA’s mind reading machine going and accidentally leaked it from the transcript from that...
“It is an absolute denial, and I already told you I didn’t say it,” Sessions said before walking away.”
Biased press “but are you sure?”
Whoa pardner, Them Jug Ears are WAY bigger than I was led to believe. Can we call you Dumbo?
It’s a natural LIBERAL trait.
IOW... “THAT WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO GO OUT TO OUR MINDLESS AND SOUL-LESS SUPPORTERS AND NOT FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION”!
I cannot stand to look at the jerk, nor can I stand to hear him speak.
I do not bear liars easily and Obama is a professional liar, bigot, and Muslim loving slime.
Statements do not need to be true .. they just are .. and never go away.
Perhaps we can draw the conclusion that Barry said that about Dick.
I admit that POS 0dumbo is the master with the Alinksy rules
but This non denial denial from the WH may take the cake.
What exactly did the POS 0dymbo admit to?
anybody?
that W H’ read’ must have been pretty explicit for Durbin to stick to his lie
Interesting he knew about recording.
White House tries to bail him out with some mumbo-jumbo.
What a joke these people are.
Well, he could’ve said “Saftgiver can’t stand to look, listen or yell at your half black son of a Communist whore’s son.” and I would take bows on PSMNBC. But I guess not.
Digging their holes bigger to crawl into?
It was a lie they told to the chosen to fire up the base....chosen weren’t suppose to repeat it but the chosen are ....well stupid!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
