White House press secretary Jen Psaki deflected on a question about the Biden administration investigating the “right-wing forces” supporting the “Freedom Convoy” in Canada.
At Monday’s White House press briefing, Reuters White House correspondent Andrea Shalal did not mince words when she referred to the gatherings of trucks across Canada as being funded by “right-wing forces.”
When called on by Psaki, Shalal showed more concern over the White House’s take on the funding of the protests than their stance in opposition to COVID vaccine mandates imposed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Shalal began her question specifying the truckers’ presence in Ottawa, “There does seem to be evidence that these truckers are getting support from conservative forces or right-wing forces in the U.S.”
“Are you investigating that at all?” Shalal asked Psaki. “Is there any, kind of, you know, involvement of U.S. authorities in looking at those money flows going to these truckers? And are you concerned about it?”
Psaki danced around a response stating, “Well, I would say a couple of things. This doesn’t answer your question, but I just want to get this out there too on this particular topic, and then I’ll come around – I promise.”
Resetting, she then suggested she would answer Shalal’s question, “We have been engaged since the outset – well, some of it hopefully answers your question, I should say – of the protests.”
“There have been zero impacts to CBP (Canadian Border Patrol) operations,” Psaki began to lay out, “which is a question people have understandably been asking us.”
She went on to gloss over some of the details as to how that is, saying, “Some – some shipments were rerouted by our law enforcement partners to other points of entry due to road closures. Some shippers have had to reroute. But CBP has been in communication throughout to ensure shipments can be cleared and onto normal routes.”
Only then did Psaki address the question of whether the Biden administration was investigating the funding of the “Freedom Convoy.”
“In terms of an assessment of any other engagement from here,” Psaki balked, “we have – we don’t really have any update on that or any investigation to read out at this point in time.”
The funding in question had been ceased by the crowdfunding site GoFundMe resulting in widespread backlash after an initial plan to funnel donations to the organizations of their choice.
GoFundMe changed course declaring that they would refund all donations without requiring a request after legal action was threatened. Investigations are ongoing even after the reversal as numerous state attorneys general and high-ranking Republicans have promised to uncover any violation of consumer protection laws.
Patriotic Texans donated to Canadian truckers’ worthy cause using GoFundMe. This BLM-backing company went woke, froze the funds, & failed to deliver Texans’ money. Today I assembled a team to investigate their potential fraud & deception. Texas donors will get Justice! #GoFundMe
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) February 5, 2022
It is a fraud for @gofundme to commandeer $9M in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing.
I will work with @AGAshleyMoody to investigate these deceptive practices — these donors should be given a refund.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 5, 2022
GoFundMe promoted the ANTIFA-occupied CHOP zone in Seattle.
But they shut down fundraisers for truckers protesting #COVID mandates.
We’ve got questions.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 5, 2022
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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