Sandra Smith Gobsmacked By WH Spox Claiming She Hadn’t Read Conflicting Statement On Border Wall: ‘Who’s Right Here?’

Fox News anchors Sandra Smith and John Roberts didn’t try to hide their astonishment after hearing White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre’s conflicting statements about the administration’s plan for the border wall.

Roberts cut in to Thursday’s briefing where Jean-Pierre was being grilled about the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement that it would build more of the border wall begun under former President Donald Trump.

“So, they continue asking about the border wall and Karine Jean-Pierre continues to stonewall, insisting that they had to comply with the law, which is not the case, particularly when [Alejandro] Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, saying that there is a clear and present urgent need, Sandra, to build a barrier to keep people from coming into this country,” Roberts said.

“I mean, it was an absolutely stunning moment, there, John, when she said she had not seen the Federal Register where this statement from Mayorkas was posted. I mean, this is driving the news today! She said she had not read it!” Smith said.

NBC News reported, “The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement overnight in the Federal Registry, which said the administration was waiving federal laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Endangered Species Act for the wall construction in Starr County, Texas, using federal funds appropriated in 2019.”

Smith read out a portion of Mayorkas’ statement:

There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries to the U.S.

“She was put into a position to ask, who is right then?” Smith said of Jean-Pierre. “The president’s doubling down — she says the president still stands as he has said that the border wall does not work. So, who’s right? The DHS secretary or the president? That went unanswered,” Smith said.

“I sent a note to my former colleague Peter Alexander from NBC, who read out the statement to Karine Jean-Pierre saying, ‘Good on you for presenting the facts to her,'” Roberts said.

Earlier, Fox News ran a montage of Biden vowing in 2020, “There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration.”