White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki continued to prove she has little time for right-wing media pushing unsubstantiated conspiracy theories in the briefing room.
On Thursday, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, challenged Psaki with a question drawing on a discredited conspiracy theory regarding the origins of the viral pathogen responsible for the pandemic.
The Fox News reporter—son of Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy—referred to a lab leak hypothesis promoted by former President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
He asked:
"House Republicans are claiming that they have 'significant circumstantial evidence' that [the virus] originated in a lab."
"Has the White House seen any circumstantial evidence that it did not, originate in a lab?"
The rumored Republican proof—much like their proof of voter fraud—has never been provided to authorities or released to the public.
Before giving her usual informed response, Psaki had a note for Doocy.
"Well I think first I would caution you against disproving a negative there which is never the responsible approach in our view when it comes to getting to the bottom of the root causes of a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the United States."
Psaki then addressed Doocy's question and offered:
"I will say that our view continues to be there needs to be an independent, transparent investigation and that needs to happen with the cooperation and data provided from the Chinese government."
"We don't have enough information at this point to make an assessment."
You can watch the video of their interaction, here.
Twitter had plenty to say after observing Doocy and Psaki's latest interaction.
Last month, Psaki called for China and the World Health Organization (WHO) to give international experts "unfettered access" to data and be allowed to ask questions regarding the beginnings of the outbreak.
Psaki told reporters the Biden Administration reviewed the WHO's 120-page report published by a team of international scientists about the origins of the virus.
They concluded:
"The report lacks crucial data, information and access. It represents a partial and incomplete picture."
She added:
"There's a second stage in this process that we believe should be led by international and independent experts. They should have unfettered access to data."
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