White House press secretary Jay Carney dodged questions about Ambassador Susan Rice and her husband's investment in Canadian oil companies--including up to $600,000 in the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, TransCanada--in a Thursday press briefing, oddly turning to the Benghazi issue in his response.
"I would commend Republican opposition researchers for the intellectual bandwidth that is required to read a financial disclosure form," Carney said of the issue, "because this was all documented in a financial disclosure form."
OnEarth, an environmental publication, first highlighted Rice's investments Wednesday.
The Washington Post reported on the investments Thursday, posing the question of whether Rice, potentially as Secretary of State, might have to recuse herself from decisions on Keystone.
Carney went on to read from an article on Rice's role in the administration's response to the Benghazi attack, calling her appearance on Sunday shows a "non-event."
"You didn't answer the question," CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett interjected. "The question wasn't about Benghazi at all. The question was about the conflict, and if you don't think it's a conflict, explain to us why it isn't. What does that have to do with Benghazi at all?"