Jen Psaki Wallops ‘Fox News’ Goon For Deceptive Abortion Question

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At a Tuesday press conference, Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki once again stopped a Fox reporter — this time, it was Alexandria Hoff — from deflecting from the substance of concern around the leaked draft majority opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court that would overturn the court’s Roe v. Wade ruling. Hoff asked about recent protests outside Justices’ homes, deceptively glossing over what’s actually at stake.

If the court goes through with overturning the Roe ruling, then handling abortion access would suddenly become part of the responsibilities of state leaders, at least in part — and Republicans across the country could quickly threaten the health care access of millions upon millions of people. There have been recent protests outside D.C.-area residences of Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito, along with Chief Justice John Roberts — and there has been absolutely no apparent violence at these demonstrations. There have been no reported arrests. People have solemnly gathered, sometimes with candles and signs. Hoff asked:

‘The Department of Justice was very swift in responding to school board members who felt like they were being harassed and intimidated a couple months back. Does the President feel that the demonstrations outside of, say, Justice Alito’s home — are those attempts to interfere or intimidate?’

Psaki replied that Biden’s “longstanding view has been that violence, threats, and intimidation of any kind have no place in political discourse. And we believe, of course, in peaceful protest.” She added as follows:

‘What I do find is interesting, and I think most — many people have noted, is that there are voices on the Right who have called out this — protests that are happening — while remaining silent for years on protests that have happened outside of the homes of school board members, the Michigan Secretary of State, or including threats made to women seeking reproductive healthcare, or even an insurrection against our Capitol. So I know that there’s an outrage right now, I guess, about protests that have been peaceful to date — and we certainly continue to encourage that — outside of judges’ homes. And that’s the President’s position. But the silence is pretty deafening about all of the other intimidation that we’ve seen to a number of people.’

On a different day, Psaki said, “I don’t have an official U.S. government position on where people protest. I want it — we want it, of course, to be peaceful. And certainly, the President would want people’s privacy to be respected. But I think we shouldn’t lose the point here: The reason people are protesting is because women across the country are worried about their fundamental rights that have been law for 50 years. Their rights to make choices about their own bodies and their own healthcare are at risk. That’s why people are protesting. They’re unhappy. They’re scared.” And as for those concerned about decorum, a woman organizing protests outside Kavanaugh’s home is among his neighbors. Check out Psaki’s remarks below: