White House Warns Reporters to Not Challenge John Kelly’s Falsehood Because He’s a ‘4-Star Marine General’

‘If You Want to Go After General Kelly That’s Up to You’ Huckabee Sanders Warns

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says it’s “highly inappropriate” to challenge the word of the president’s chief-of-staff because he’s a “4-star Marine general.” John Kelly is retired, but regardless, a cornerstone of American democracy is the military is controlled by civilians and Americans are free to challenge their government. It’s so important it’s in the First Amendment of the Constitution, which Huckabee Sanders should read again:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

On Friday afternoon reporters challenged Huckabee Sanders on statements Kelly had made just one day earlier, stating that Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson had made an FBI building dedication all about herself. Wilson is under attack by the White House for revealing President Trump told a Gold Star widow her husband “knew what he was getting into” when he was killed in action in Niger two weeks ago.

Friday afternoon, when a reporter asked Huckabee Sanders about General Kelly’s remarks, she insisted he stood by them:

And then she berated a reporter when he told Huckabee Sanders that Kelly was just “wrong”:

“If you want to go after General Kelly that’s up to you, but I think that, if you want to get into a debate with a 4-star Marine general, I think that that’s something highly inappropriate.”

What had Kelly said abut Congresswoman Wilson?

“A congresswoman stood up,” Kelly had told reporters, as CNN reported, “and in a long tradition of empty barrels making the most noise, stood up there in all of that and talked about how she was instrumental in getting the funding for that building, and how she took care of her constituents because she got the money, and she just called up President Obama, and on that phone call, he gave the money—the $20 million—to build the building, and she sat down, and we were stunned.” 

That’s false.

Florida’s Sun Sentinel released video of the speech, showing Kelly was grossly incorrect.

Huckabee Sanders wasn’t having it and blocked reporters at every turn. And that’s what’s highly inappropriate.

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