The White House is furious about the way the press is covering the impeachment inquiry announcement against President Joe Biden and sent a letter to several national media outlets to increase and intensify their "scrutiny" against Republicans.
The letter, signed by Ian Sams, special assistant to the president and spokesman for the White House Office of Legal Counsel, argues that the impeachment inquiry against Biden is based on "lies" and that there are even thirty Republicans in Congress who are against the impeachment process.
"It’s time for the media to ramp up its scrutiny of House Republicans for opening an impeachment inquiry based on lies," reads the letter, sent Wednesday to media outlets such as Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, AP, CBS News, among others.
Fox News was one of the few outlets to receive the letter and criticized the White House for actively "pressuring" the press to conduct favorable coverage of the impeachment. Other news networks, such as CNN, instead shared the news that they received the letter and shrugged, agreeing with the White House that they allegedly did an incomplete job verifying Republicans.
"After nearly 9 months of investigating, House Republicans haven’t been able to turn up any evidence of the President doing anything wrong. But House Republicans led by Marjorie Taylor Greene are nonetheless opening a baseless impeachment inquiry of President Biden — despite many House Republicans openly admitting there is no evidence on which to support it," reads the letter written by Sams.
The special assistant added: "Impeachment is grave, rare, and historic. The Constitution requires 'treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors'. But House Republicans are publicly stating they have uncovered none of these things."
On Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced that he has ordered House committees to begin their investigations to carry out impeachment proceedings against President Biden because he developed a "culture of corruption" in his political life.
Republicans, for months, have published evidence that the Biden family has enriched itself through controversial foreign businesses and accuse Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, of having received millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for political favors, based on reports from a "Highly credible" source of the FBI.
Also, some of Hunter Biden's past business associates, such as Devon Archer, have recently testified before Congress that Biden was directly involved in his son's business dealings through calls and meetings. This contradicts what President Biden and the White House have communicated; Biden never had any knowledge of Hunter's dealings abroad.
Orders to the press
Some legal experts, such as Professor Jonathan Turley, argued that the letter is part of a pressure mechanism by the White House to shape the narrative about impeachment in its favor and that this action could constitute an abuse of power.
The letter has an uncomfortable feeling of marching orders to the media. It is also notable in the role of White House Counsel's office. It removes any pretense of separation between the Biden personal legal team and the White House Counsel’s office. https://t.co/YNXYxVxflG
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) September 13, 2023
"The message is curious and concerning, particularly in the aggressive role being played by the White House Counsel’s office under Stuart Frank Delery," Turley wrote. "First, as I have previously noted, the White House is now actively involved in pushing narratives and denying factual allegations linked to the Biden corruption scandal. That could create Nixonian-type allegations of the abuse of office in the use of federal employees to counter impeachment efforts."
According to Turley, the fact that the letter was written by Sams implies another additional problem.
"So White House lawyers are now enlisting the media in a counter media campaign against impeachment? The letter removes any pretense of separation between the Biden personal legal team and the White House Counsel’s office," he wrote.
Finally, Turley details that the letter demonstrates the clear intention of the White House to give orders to the press to achieve favorable coverage in a similar way to when the details about Hunter Biden's computer came out.
This, according to Turley, reinforces the feeling that the vast majority of traditional media serve as a communications arm of the Biden White House, setting a dangerous precedent for the United States and press freedom.
