White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki continues to dodge questions about the State Department’s ongoing Keystone XL evaluation.
Psaki refused to shed light on the State Department’s lengthy look on the effect the Keystone XL pipeline would have for the country. Monday was the deadline for all federal agencies to give the State Department their impact reports and recommendations for the pipeline.
When asked if all the agencies filed a report, Psaki got defensive.
"We are not going to confirm, we treat them as internal recommendations." Psaki said. "I’m not going to confirm whether or not we received them. They are not mandated. The one’s we have received will be factored into the consideration process."
The answer upset many of the reporters at the briefing. As Psaki continued her assertion that the reports were an internal process, reporters barraged her with more question, directly attacking the integrity of the State Department.
"I don’t understand why you can’t say if all eight submitted them or not," AP reporter Matt Lee said. "What happened to this transparency idea? I don’t get it. I’m not asking what’s in the report."
This is not the first time Lee has confronted the State Department about the administration’s lack of transparency.
"When you say internal process, that really means secret and not transparent, right?"