White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday was confronted on whether the Democrat officials “learnt any lesson” on rushing to judgment on the Jussie Smollett case.
The jury in the Smollett case on Thursday found the disgraced actor guilty on five counts of felony disorderly county after staging a hoax hate crime against himself only to launch a false report about it.
During the White House Press briefing, Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich pointed out that both President Biden and Vice President Harris expressed support for Smollett when the incident was first reported three years ago.
At the time, Biden tweeted “What happened today to @JussieSmollett must never be tolerated in this country. We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie.”
And Kamala Harris tweeted, “.@JussieSmollett is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I’m praying for his quick recovery. This was an attempted modern-day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate.”
There were many other Democrat officials at the time and several mainstream media publications that rushed to judgment as soon as the story came out.
Heinrich asked Psaki if there were “lessons learned on rushing to judgement when a crime is alleged.”
“I think there are lessons learned perhaps for everybody who commented at the time, including former President Trump,” Psaki responded
“…I would say that we respect the jury’s decision. Lying to the police, particularly about something as heinous as a hate crime, is shameful. Instances of that need to be investigated fully and those found guilty need to be punished and false accusations divert valuable police resources away from important investigations. They make it harder for real victims to come forward and be believed.” She added.
“…But certainly knowing what we know now, it’s important to also note the danger of lying to police and lying about hate crimes and the fact that it diverts important resources,” she continued.
What do you make of Jen Psaki’s response? Do you think she answered the question as it was asked? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
