Biden Admin Officials To Reporters Asking For Evidence: Just Believe Us

U.S. government officials on Thursday twice dismissed questions from reporters who asked for evidence to back up claims, suggesting that the reporters should take the government at its word.

During a briefing providing the press updates on escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, State Department spokesman Ned Price referenced a report by intelligence officials last month that said Russia was attempting to create a pretext for its troops to invade Ukraine. On Thursday, Price said the U.S. had intelligence suggesting Russia was planning a “false flag operation” propaganda video to justify an invasion.

Associated Press reporter Matt Lee asked: Where’s the evidence?

In a heated back and forth, Price repeated that Russia was planning to conduct a false flag operation in eastern Ukraine, citing a previous briefing where the plan had been discussed.

“What is the evidence that the plan — I mean, this is like crisis actors, really?” Lee asked. “This is like Alex Jones territory that you’re getting into now. What evidence do you have that there is some propaganda film in the making?”

Price said his comments were “derived from information known to the U.S. government,” again prompting Lee to press him for evidence.

“I would like some proof that the Russians are doing this,” Lee said.

Later in the more than five minute back-and-forth, Price suggested Lee’s questioning of the U.S. government was playing into Russia’s plans.

“If you doubt the credibility of the U.S. government, of the British government, of other governments and want to, you know, find solace in information that the Russians are putting out, that is for you to do,” Price said.

Lee would be right to, as Price puts it, “doubt the credibility” of a government that has historically been known to lie. For instance, officials lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as a pretext to invade the country in 2003. And the U.S. has a record of lying about civilian casualties, something White House press secretary Jen Psaki was reminded of by a reporter on Thursday.

After the White House announced Thursday that a top ISIS leader had been killed, Psaki took questions aboard Air Force One, where she was pressed for details about the operation that left 13 people dead, including six children and four women. Earlier, President Joe Biden said top ISIS militant Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi detonated a suicide bomb that killed himself, his wife and his children during the raid.

NPR White House Correspondent Ayesha Rascoe again asked a question reporters often ask: Can you show evidence?

“Jen, will there be any, like, evidence or, like, release to support the idea ― I mean, I know the U.S. has put out its statement that, you know, [ISIS] detonated the bomb themselves,” Rascoe said, according to a press pool transcript of the conversation. “But will the U.S. provide any evidence? Because there may be people that are skeptical of the events that took place and what happened to the civilians.”

Here’s how the rest of the exchange unfolded:

When Roscoe said the U.S. “has not always been straightforward about what happens with civilians,” she could have been referring to any number of times the U.S. has killed foreign civilians and attempted to hide it.

When the U.S. government makes a claim, it’s a reporter’s job to ask for evidence. History has taught the destruction that can be wrought when reporters don’t.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.