WH Letter to Media: ‘Ramp Up’ Scrutiny of GOP

The Biden White House is wasting little time in fighting back against an impeachment inquiry by trying to influence mainstream media coverage of House Republicans’ investigations.

The White House is sending a letter to top news executives and urging them to intensify scrutiny of House Republicans.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Tuesday he’s directing a House committee to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his family’s business dealings.

Ian Sams, spokesperson for the White House impeachment war room, wrote a letter to be sent to news organizations such as The New York Times, Fox News, the Associated Press, CBS News and others, CNN first reported.

“It’s time for the media to ramp up its scrutiny of House Republicans for opening an impeachment inquiry based on lies,” Sams wrote, according to the letter.

In the letter, Sams said an impeachment inquiry with no supporting evidence should “set off alarm bells for news organizations.”

“This is not OK,” journalist Matthew Keys tweeted. “The White House should not be encouraging, influencing or interfering in the editorial strategies of America’s newsrooms, including CNN and the New York Times.”

“Now, any time the media DOES try to hold Republican lawmakers to account, those lawmakers can simply counter by questioning whether it’s actual journalism or something encouraged by the Biden administration,” Keys wrote.

“All this demonstrates is that the Biden administration has lost confidence in the news media – which I guess mirrors public sentiment over the last few years, too.”

“The problem is they’re trying to influence coverage. The government should never do that. It is inappropriate,” Keys wrote.

McCarthy on Tuesday said the House Oversight Committee’s investigation found a “culture of corruption” around the Biden family as Republicans probe the business dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, from before the Democrat took office.

“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives,” McCarthy said. “That’s why today I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.