Jacqui Swagger: FNC’s Heinrich Battles Psaki, Sullivan Over Russian Invasion

During a tense Friday White House press briefing in which National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned Americans to leave Ukraine in the next 24 to 48 hours ahead of a likely Russian invasion, Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich brought the heat to both Sullivan and Press Secretary Jen Psaki about whether President Biden still believes pre-invasion sanctions are “stupid”Heinrich and whether or not a war of blood in Ukraine would place what Heinrich later called “a black mark on this administration.”

Heinrich first questioned Sullivan, with a number of brief but important points.

Is it possible that the U.S. waited too long to arm Ukraine. This is especially true if you consider weapons that can defend against an aerial strike like yours. Was it too slow to transfer U.S. military forces to NATO members? Is the President still averse to the idea of preinvasion sanctions?

Sullivan insisted the U.S. hasn’t “wait[ed] too long” as they’ve given them “$650 million in defensive assistance” since Biden took office and NATO allies support their troop movements. But channeling Psaki, he didn’t touch the topic of sanctions.

Thankfully, Heinrich didn’t let him get away, repeatedly asking about “the pre-invasion sanctions” as “you didn’t answer that part of my question.”

As Heinrich said on FNC’s Martha MacCallum: The Story, Sullivan’s logic didn’t make sense as he then claimed “sanctions are intended to deter and in order for them to work to deter, they have to be set up in a way where if Putin moves, then the costs are imposed.”

So, how would sanctions “deter” someone from invading if they’ve already invaded and taken over the country?

Heinrich also had a go-around with Psaki, starting with what the government’s doing (if anything) to assist Americans evacuate (click “expand”):

HEINRICH: Has the U.S. shared the latest intelligence with Ukraine and do — does the U.S. feel the Ukrainian government is properly preparing its citizens for a possibility of war because it seems like they keep downplaying it?

PSAKI: Well, I’m not going to speak with how the Ukrainian officials — leaders speak or engage with their citizens, but we do engage very closely with them, sharing of information, as we do with our European counterparts and that has been the case at every point in this process.

HEINRICH – Is the State Department helping Americans get out of Ukraine right now or warning them not to?

PSAKI: Well, we have been warning for several weeks now, if not longer, that American citizens should depart and I think you heard our national security adviser give a pretty stark warning of what would happen — on purpose — what would happen if Russia were to invade in the difficulty of not just being in the middle of a military zone, but also the difficulty of departing or getting out, and the fact that departure — means of departure could be cut off, and we feel important for American citizens in Ukraine to understand. As Americans don’t possess the ability to leave, we have made it clear that assistance would be provided. For several weeks, this has been our practice. 

A key question was also posed by her: “if we don’t know if Putin has made up his mind, why are we hearing this warning from Jake Sullivan that Americans should get out ideally in the next 24 to 48 hours,” which Psaki conceded as stark but necessary to preematively get ahead of an invasion as a bloody war featuring air strikes would make life “very difficult” for Americans.

When she took a big picture of how it marked the end, things came to an abrupt halt “the second evacuation of Americans in the course of six” months (with Afghanistan being the other), but before she could get the word “months” out, Psaki interjected and, from there, it was on (click “expand”):

PSAKI: It’s not actually an evacuation, to be clear. American citizens are allowed to leave Ukraine. You can leave Ukraine by using various means. It’s not the country in which we are fighting war with tens or thousands of soldiers who have been fighting for 20 years. So it is very different. 

HEINRICH: Correct. That is correct. But it’s the second time we have urged American citizens to get out of a country.

PSAKI: Actually, we’ve urged American citizens to depart a number of times — 

HEINRICH: But when I mean — Afghanistan — 

PSAKI: — well, I think this — 

HEINRICH: — because the question then is —

PSAKI: — let me finish here because I think it’s important for people to understand: We urged American citizens to depart Kazakhstan. American citizens were urged to leave Ethiopia. It is an obligation that both the State Department and the diplomats from around the world have. 

HEINRICH: But these are the two major events that have happened under this administration, and what does the — what do you guys say —

PSAKI: I would say the people in Ethiopia would differ with that, as would the people in Kazakhstan or other parts of the world where there has been — they have been under dangerous circumstances, and they look to the United States to provide up to date information of their safety and security in the country. 

Heinrich had one final question, which led Psaki to respond with “who’s questioning us”: 

[T]He President frequently spoke of getting out Afghanistan as a significant event. This has had an impact on his polling. It is an ongoing event. Now the question is: What will the administration tell critics looking at these two events, and asking questions about the administration’s approach to foreign policy?

When Heinrich mentioned Republicans like Mitch McConnell, Psaki boasted of Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal and “courage” to implement their plan and they’re working here “to prevent war.”

A number of reporters also brought heat to the briefing in other parts. 

Most notably, Sullivan ducked and/or struggled to answer questions from Bloomberg’s Jennifer Epstein and Reuters’s Jeff MasonWhat percentage of Ukraine could Russia capture and how would it be disposed? Globo Media’s Racquel Krähenbühl question on why Vice President Harris will be attending the Munich Security Conference instead of President Biden (click “expand”):

EPSTEIN: Thanks, Jake. Two quick questions. Two quick questions. What about the Donbass region? Are you interested in another part of the world? Is that something you can sense? What is the confidence level that intelligence has regarding this plan? Especially in relation to the possibility of it happening before the Olympics end?

(….)

KRÄHENBÜHL: Next week, Vice President is going to Germany for the Munich Security Conference. Why isn’t President Biden going? Isn’t this a great time to have a personal conversation with his allies? Are his efforts sufficient to avoid war?

(….)

MASON: You specifically mentioned the possibility that an attack on Kyiv could be planned. How would you interpret Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine? Is he trying to take control or is it a part of Crimea that he wants to be able to do so in 2014?

To see the relevant briefing transcript from February 11 (including more questions from the likes of CBS’s Nancy Cordes and Steven Portnoy, NPR’s Franco Ordoñez, and PBS’s Amna Nawaz), click here.