Greta: Give it a rest, Mr. President
'Off the Record', 2/3/14: Stop blaming Fox News for your troubles, show real transparency on IRS, Benghazi scandals
By Greta Van Susteren
Let's go "Off the Record" for just a minute. I need some advice: How do you say politely give it a rest?
Because that's my flip response to President Obama as I hear him continuously blame Fox News. Fox, Fox, Fox, it's all Fox! Now, I don't want to be rude. I respect the president and his office, but his nonresponsive answers to serious matters like the IRS targeting is to blame Fox.
Besides being false, that is not at all particularly presidential. What is presidential instead is to demand his administration to get to the bottom of it, order his administration top to bottom to answer all the questions quickly and provide all the documents requested. No feet-dragging. Here is what he said when Bill O'Reilly asked him yesterday about the IRS scandal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: These kinds of things keep on surfacing in part because you and your TV station will promote them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, that may be true, but we do keep asking only because the American people have not gotten all the answers from his administration. It's that simple. IRS targeting is a serious issue. Even the president admitted it when the scandal broke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Their specific findings prematurely, but I can tell it you that if you have got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and nonpartisan way then that is outrageous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
But only two months later with still unanswered questions the president suddenly decided the IRS scandal was phony. He then became foot-dragger-in-chief. Yes, sending a message down through the ranks of his administration to drag their feet in answering questions. Stall, stall, and stall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: With an endless distraction of political posturing and phony scandals and Lord knows what, Washington keeps taking its eye off the ball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, what happens between May and July? Nothing. American people sure didn't get answers. And spiking our curiosity, the person in his administration who most would agree knows the answers - Lois Lerner - well, she took the Fifth and she hit the road. She retired. Now, that doesn't mean it's over.
President Obama's pronouncement that he thinks its "phony" doesn't end it. Complete answers, transparency ends it. We don't have that; we don't have either. Neither complete answers ,nor transparency so, yes, we do keep asking questions.
And his defense: It's Fox's fault. And that's my "Off the Record" comment tonight.
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