White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Fox News reporter Peter Doocy sparred once again, this time after he compared President Joe Biden to Donald Trump.
Speaking during the October 18 press briefing, Doocy suggested that Biden had "broken his promise" not to "interfere in what cases" the Department of Justice (DOJ) "should bring and not bring."
Their interaction became more abrasive when he suggested Biden was inappropriate to weigh in on whether or not the DOJ would prosecute individuals who'd defied subpoenas from the House Select committee tasked with investigating the January 6 insurrection.
You can watch what transpired in the video below.
Asked to explain how exactly Biden had broken that promise," Doocy said:
"Well, he was asked if the DOJ should prosecute people who'd defied January 6 committee subpoenas and he did not say, 'I will let the Justice Department decide, he said, 'Yes.'"
To that, Psaki responded:
"Well, let me reiterate, and I put out a statement also on Friday night on this where I convey clearly, that one, the President continues to believe this was one of the darkest days in American history."
"He also continues to believe that the Department of Justice has the purview and the independence to make decisions about prosecutions."
"And that continues to be his view and that continues to be how he will govern."
"You say that is his view but that is not what he said," Doocy said, to which Psaki affirmed that she had, in fact, conveyed the President's view, stressing "that is what is important for people to watch."
But it was when Doocy suggested that Biden was using the DOJ as his "vehicle" that Doocy shut him down.
Here, she reminded Doocy and the other reporters in the press pool just what former President Donald Trump had done:
"Well, since you gave me the opportunity here…"
"Former President Trump used his office to incite an insurrection."
"He put political pressure on senior DOJ officials to propagate lies about the election to the point that they threatened to resign en masse."
"I think there's hardly a comparison."
The interaction between Doocy and Psaki soon went viral, and Doocy faced heavy criticism.
Psaki is no stranger to Doocy's pointed questions.
Last month, she and Doocy clashed after he, asking about migrants crossing the nation's southern border, appeared to suggest that pregnant migrant women pose a "big threat" to the nation's security.
Over the summer, she shut down Doocy after he suggested that former President Barack Obama is a "super spreader" and not following Covid-19 guidelines.
She also recently took Doocy to task for suggesting she was lying about biting incidents involving President Joe Biden's dog, Major.
Interactions between Psaki and Doocy have become so well known that they're responsible for the popular #PsakiBomb hashtag, and it's safe to say their latest exchange is another one for the books.
